wren
- noun
- /rɛn/
- The small wren hopped from branch to branch, singing cheerfully as the sun rose.
- a house wren
I studied natural things, all manner of plants, Birds I draw now in my book, Wren Willett, Egret Loon, tending the gardens.
- I studied natural things, all manner of plants, Birds I draw now in my book, Wren Willett, Egret Loon, tending the gardens.
- An albatross and a Wren probably as distantly related to each other as a human and a goat are.
Examples
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For the poor wren, the most diminutive of birds… will fight, her young ones in the nest, against the owl.
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"You remind me of a wren with a broken wing."
Fiction book (1995) -
But I was right; it was a Carolina wren, according to the book.
Fiction book (1997) -
A marsh wren is in a tree above the bank.
Fiction book (1995) -
Not all birds, however, are as fixed in their diet as the house wren.
Academic text (1993) -
The robin redbreast and the wren had done their work well.
Fiction book (1993) -
Well, it was the smallest little wren, just sort of looking at me helplessly.
Blog text (1) -
Common Yellowthroats, a cardinal, a Carolina wren, and some song sparrows joined them.
Blog text (30) -
"A wren!" The bird flew up in a frenzy of feathers and flapping wings.
Fiction book (1997) -
You could still hear the surf behind us, and the catbird wrens were making a sweet racket, wishing us good morning.
Fiction book (1996)
Compounds
- New Zealand
A small bird from New Zealand that looks like a wren but is not related
A small North American songbird with a bright red patch on the top of the male's head
A small North American bird with a short bill that lives in wet meadows
- Indian
A small bird from Asia and Africa that makes nests by sewing leaves together
How Small
Surface Forms
Etymology
Wren comes from an old English name, wrenna. A helpful way to remember it is a folk story where the tiny bird hid on an eagle's back to fly the highest and won the title 'king of the birds', so wren suggests a very small, lively songbird.