Wrentit
October in Los Angeles County, California
on a bird confined to the Pacific states, from extreme northwestern Oregon south barely into Baja California. It isn’t prone to wander, so it’s unlikely to be seen outside its well-defined range. So why is the Wrentit of interest to birders in the other 90 percent of North America? Certainly its uniqueness and interesting evolutionary and biogeographic history play a role. And it’s not a slam-dunk identification; the bird is a non-descript skulker, superficially combining — as the name suggests — characters of different small songbirds. The overall brownish coloration, affinity for dense brush, and tail-cocking habit are reminiscent of many wrens. Strong legs and a fairly short bill with slightly downcurved culmen recall titmice and chickadees. Even within its range, observers frequently mistake other species for it, which canrecords only a few miles out of range or habitat would be highly significant.
