Carolina wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790)
The carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a species in the family Troglodytidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 18.7 g to 21.2 g and live up to 6.1 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the carolina wren
- Weight
- 18.7 g – 21.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 6.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 9.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.44src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.75src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the carolina wren live?
Not recorded
What is the carolina wren?
The Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a species of wren common in the eastern United States, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, the northeast and southeast of Mexico, and into northern Central America. Severe winters restrict the northern limits of their range, while favorable weather conditions lead to a northward extension of their breeding range. Their preferred habitat is in dense cover in forest, farm edges, and suburban areas. This wren is the state bird of South Carolina.
Ten subspecies are recognized, occurring across the range of the species; they differ slightly in song and appearance. It is generally inconspicuous, avoiding the open for extended periods of time. When out in the open, they energetically investigate their surroundings and are rarely stationary. After finding a mate, pairs maintain a territory and stay together for several years. Both males and females give out alarm calls, but only males sing to advertise territory. Carolina wrens raise multiple broods during the summer breeding season but can fall victim to brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, among other species.
From the Wikipedia article “Carolina wren” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carolina_wren&oldid=1380657792), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the carolina wren sound like?
Is the carolina wren endangered?
The carolina wren is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the carolina wren classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyTroglodytidae
- genusThryothorus
- SpeciesThryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790)
Synonyms Certhia caroliniana, Motacilla caroliniana, Sylvia ludoviciana, Troglodytes ludovicianus
Other names and names in other languages (44)
- Great Carolina wrenEnglish
- White-browed wrenEnglish
- Laouenan CarolinaBreton
- cargolet de la CarolinaCatalan
- ᎠᎵᏔᎹCherokee
- střízlík karolinskýCzech
- Dryw CarolinaWelsh
- CarolinasmutteDanish
- CarolinazaunkönigGerman
- Carolina-ZaunkönigGerman
- HinutëtDelaware
- Karolina triotoroEsperanto
- karolina trogloditoEsperanto
- Chivirín de CarolinaSpanish
- Cucarachero de CarolinaSpanish
- Saltapared de CarolinaSpanish
- ruugekäblikEstonian
- الیکایی کارولیناییPersian
- matkijapeukaloinenFinnish
- troglodyte de CarolineFrench
- Dreoilín carolinaIrish
- bjelogrli palčićCroatian
- karolinai ökörszemHungarian
- TaumrindillIcelandic
- Scricciolo della CarolinaItalian
- チャバラマユミソサザイJapanese
- karolininė krūmyninė karietaitėLithuanian
- Karolīnas ceplītisLatvian
- Haʼaʼaahdę́ę́ʼ jádídlǫ́ʼii binátsʼiin łigaaígííNavajo
- CarolinawinterkoningDutch
- karolinasmettNorwegian
- strzyżyk karolińskiPolish
- carriça-carolinaPortuguese
- carriça-da-carolinaPortuguese
- Corruíra-da-carolinaPortuguese
- Каролинский крапивникRussian
- Каролинский кустарниковый крапивникRussian
- oriešok karolínskySlovak
- Karolinski carićSerbian
- karolinagärdsmygSwedish
- Karolina ÇıtkuşuTurkish
- поплітник каролінськийUkrainian
- 皇葦鷦鷯Chinese
- 卡罗苇鹪鹩Chinese
Relatives of the carolina wren
Other species in the same family Troglodytidae.
Eurasian wren
Troglodytes troglodytes
Northern house wren
Troglodytes aedon
Cactus wren
Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Marsh wren
Cistothorus palustris
Rock wren
Salpinctes obsoletus
Bewick's wren
Thryomanes bewickii
CompareCarolina wren vs Eurasian wrenCarolina wren vs Northern house wrenCarolina wren vs Cactus wrenCarolina wren vs Marsh wren
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the carolina wren?
An adult carolina wren weighs 18.7 g – 21.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the carolina wren endangered?
The carolina wren is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the carolina wren live?
The carolina wren has a recorded lifespan of 6.1 years.
What kind of animal is the carolina wren?
The carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) belongs to the family Troglodytidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/carolina-wren
“Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/carolina-wren.
@misc{carolina_wren_2026,
title = {Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/carolina-wren},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}