CreatureData

Rock wren

Salpinctes obsoletus (Say, 1822)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) is a species in the family Troglodytidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 15.6 g to 17.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus)
Photo: Wolfgang Wander · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the rock wren

Weight
15.6 g – 17.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.9 – 5.17src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
2.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the rock wren live?

Not recorded

What is the rock wren?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) is a small songbird of the wren family native to the rocky areas of western North America. There are 8 subspecies of the rock wren, one of which is extinct. They are similar in size to other wrens, with a grey-brown coat, a brown rump, and a speckled white throat.

They are visually similar to the canyon wren, which they share a habitat with. They are noted for their variable song and song pattern, used for territory defense, as well as their habit of building "pavements" with flat rocks around their nest to help nestlings stay dry. Rock wrens are serially monogamous, forming pairs for nesting season. Nestbuilding usually begins in March, usually in crevices, and the first brood are laid late April to June, with a possible second brood later in June.

They are largely terrestrial foragers, rarely flying. Their diet consists of insects, mostly weevils, during the spring and summer, shifting to grain during autumn and winter. Though they are a least-concern species, their population size has declined by 13% from 2010 to 2020.

From the Wikipedia article “Rock wren” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_wren&oldid=1380703125), 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.

Is the rock wren endangered?

The rock wren is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the rock wren classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyTroglodytidae
  6. genusSalpinctes
  7. SpeciesSalpinctes obsoletus (Say, 1822)

Synonyms Troglodytes obsoleta

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • American rock wrenEnglish
  • cargolet roquerCatalan
  • střízlík skalníCzech
  • BjergsmutteDanish
  • FelsenzaunkönigGerman
  • SalpinktoEsperanto
  • roka trogloditoEsperanto
  • Soterrey RoqueroSpanish
  • Chivirín saltarrocaSpanish
  • Cucarachero roqueroSpanish
  • Saltapared de RocasSpanish
  • kalliopeukaloinenFinnish
  • Troglodyte des rochersFrench
  • palčić stjenjakCroatian
  • sziklai ökörszemHungarian
  • Scricciolo di rocciaItalian
  • イワミソサザイJapanese
  • uolinė ilgasnapė karietaitėLithuanian
  • klinšu ceplītisLatvian
  • Amerikaanse RotswinterkoningDutch
  • steinursmettNorwegian
  • skalik złotorzytnyPolish
  • carriça-das-rochasPortuguese
  • cambaxirra-das-rochasPortuguese
  • Скальный крапивникRussian
  • Скальный длинноклювый крапивникRussian
  • oriešok skalnýSlovak
  • Kamenjarski carićSerbian
  • klippgärdsmygSwedish
  • Kaya ÇıtkuşuTurkish
  • орішець скельнийUkrainian
  • 岩鹪鹩Chinese
  • 普通岩鷦鷯Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the rock wren

Other species in the same family Troglodytidae.

LC, Least Concern
Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Eurasian wren

Troglodytes troglodytes

Troglodytidae

LC, Least Concern
Cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)

Cactus wren

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

Troglodytidae

LC, Least Concern
Marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris)

Marsh wren

Cistothorus palustris

Troglodytidae

LC, Least Concern
Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)

Carolina wren

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Troglodytidae

CompareRock wren vs Eurasian wrenRock wren vs Northern house wrenRock wren vs Cactus wrenRock wren vs Marsh wren

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the rock wren?

An adult rock wren weighs 15.6 g – 17.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the rock wren endangered?

The rock wren is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the rock wren?

The rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) 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.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-wren

MLA

“Rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-wren.

BibTeX
@misc{rock_wren_2026,
  title = {Rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-wren},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}