Family: Troglodytidae, Wrens view all from this family

Description 5 1/2 -6" (14-15 cm). Sparrow-sized. Dark rusty above and below, with conspicuous white throat and upper breast.

Habitat Rocky canyons and cliffs; old stone buildings.

Nesting 4-6 white eggs, lightly speckled with reddish brown, in a shallow cup of feathers, plant down, and moss placed in a crevice among rocks or, occasionally, on a building.

Range Resident from British Columbia, Montana, and western South Dakota southward.

Voice   A high, clear series of descending notes; tee-tee-tee-tee-tew-tew-tew-tew.

Discussion This wren is found in remote, steep-walled canyons and on rocky mountainsides but has also adapted to man-made structures such as stone buildings and rock walls. Like most wrens, this bird is quite secretive, and often when one can plainly hear its musical song reverberating from the walls of a canyon, it takes a long and patient search to spot the singer, perched high up on a ledge or quietly picking its way through a clump of brush.