Wrentit for a Day

Once in a while I write paeans to a certain species of bird. This time I chose the quaint Wrentit. Quaint, because it is neither a Wren nor a Tit - although it exhibits certain characteristics of both species. Quaint, because it is the only member of the Babbler family (Timaliidae) to be found in the New World. Not only that, its range is confined to the Pacific coast - from southern Washington State to northern Baja California.

It is a pretty nondescript bird decked in browish plumage and it is more often heard -with its "bouncing-ball" song - than seen as it hunts for insects in dense underbrush. Its long tail is almost always cocked and the pale iris gives the bird a fierce look. Which is indicative of its audacity and apparent fearlessness of human beings. I had many encounters with Wrentits where they would come to within an arms length and seemed unperturbed by my presence even while pointing a menacing looking object like a camera with a long lens at them.

The bold, out-of-place, drab Wrentit is definitely worthy of being my bird of the day.

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