Pacific Wren
(Troglodytes pacificus)

Summary

Picture of bird
© Jukka Jantunen
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Pacific Wren was previously considered part of the Winter Wren species but was formally recognised as a separate species in 2010 (Toews and Irwin 2008, Chesser et al. 2010). The species inhabits moist, coniferous forest, west of the eastern Rocky Mountain foothill, breeding throughout coastal and interior British Columbia, southwestern Alberta and rarely in southern Yukon. The Pacific Wren is monitored in Canada by the Breeding Bird Survey, which shows that the population has decreased since 1970, especially since the early 2000s. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Listing of the main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
Partners in Flight (North America)Stewardship List2012 
Bird Conservation Region StrategyPriority Species2013 

Population status

Geographic areaStatusReliability
CanadaModerate DecreaseMedium
 

Population estimate

Canada500,000 to 5,000,000 adults
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Short-distance migrant

Responsibility for conservation of world population

CanadaModerate

Conservation and management

Pacific Wrens are common in old-growth forests and rare in young forests, since the former have abundant large trees, snags and logs that provide foraging habitat as well as nest and roost sites (Hejl et al. 2002). There are concerns over the combined effects of forest fragmentation, forest structure simplification and loss of mature old-growth forests (Toews and Irwin 2012).

 

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
Northern Pacific RainforestNorthern Pacific Rainforest, sub-region and priority type: Pacific and Yukon Region
 

References