Songster

(Marsh Wren)

On the previous page, you’ve seen the Common Yellowthroat. If you’ve seen one in nature, hiding among tangled grasses, sedges, and rushes surrounding a lake or pond, you very likely also saw or heard this songster, the Marsh Wren. Its repertoire exceeds 200 songs—on the west coast alone.

Did you get that? Two hundred songs!

While the male spends exorbitant time performing that repertoire, he still takes time to build five to six nests each spring. His little suburb may help attract females. If one inspects the work and approves, the two begin again and build the actual nest in which their eggs will be laid.

There is a strategy at work in this scenario. Marsh Wrens, fortunately or unfortunately, attack one another’s nests and destroy eggs when they can. The result is fewer hatchlings and less competition for scarce resources around the marsh. Perhaps those early nests built by the male alone act as decoys to confuse competing marauders.

Nature is a tough mistress, indeed.