Small and sprightly, familiar in dense marshes across North America. Adult is rufous and brown overall, with reddish tones on rump and wings, black back with white streaks, pale buffy underparts, black-barred tail often held cocked up, dark crown, white supercilium, whitish throat, and rather long, slightly decurved bill. Birds on the Georgia and South Carolina coast are mostly grayish, without warm tones. Sedge Wren lacks rufous on barred wings and has buffy-streaked back.

Length: 13 (cm) Wingspan: 15 (cm)

Voice:

Song of rasping, rattling notes with a trill in the middle: chup-chup-chup-grrrrrrr-r-r. Call is a single harsh note; also various rattles and scolding calls.

Habitat:

Marshes, wetlands, cattail swamps, dense vegetation over standing water, rush beds.

Behavior:

Skulks in vegetation, clinging to upright stems. Sings from exposed perches. Nest is a surprisingly large, globe-shaped construction of reeds and grasses, woven to vertical supports, several feet off the ground. Male often builds multiple nests, among which the female chooses one to lay her eggs.

Feeding:

Gleans marsh vegetation and forages along ground for insects and spiders.