Troglodytes troglodytes

While resting on a log during a hike near Loa, the movements of a tiny dark bird foraging underneath caught my attention. It was a winter wren, which I was happy to add to my life list.

Winter wrens are not common in Utah and are not easily seen when present. They have a secretive nature and prefer mist forests and dead-wood tangles, such as the log where I rested.

Kris Purdy recently found a winter wren at the Box Elder Campground near campsite 24 in Mantua.

The winter wren is the only wren to be found outside the Americas, occurring also in Europe, Asia and North Africa, with 35 or more recognized subspecies.

The North American breeding range is from coastal Alaska southward to northern California, Idaho and Montana, and across Canada to the Great Lakes, the Maritime Provinces, and the eastern United States, as far southward as the southern Appalachians.

Its winter range is the far western portions of its breeding range and the Pacific Coast.

Its tail is short and usually held upward, like other wrens. It has a thick pointed bill and is dark brown overall. Only 3 to 5 inches in length, it weighs less than half an ounce, with a wing span of 5 inches.

Although small in stature, its complex song is delivered with gusto. The winter wren's song has as many as 16 to 32 notes per second.

They have been known to have communal roost in winter. The male will build several domed structured nests, with the hope a female will pick and utilize one of them.

They eat invertebrates, including insects, insect larvae, millipedes and spiders.

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* BILL FENIMORE is owner of the Layton Wild Bird Center. The Wild Bird Center offers a variety of free walks. Call 801-525-8400 or visit www.wildbird.com/layton for more information.