One of the smallest birds in Europe, with the Goldcrest. But the Wren is podgier, and therefore heavier.
Brown with fine stripes, it almost always holds its short tail upwards. Small, certainly, but what an organ: it is one of the most sonorous songs of the forest, audible up to more than 500 m! As for its most frequent call, it reminds of the sound of a machine-gun: trrrr-trrrr-trrrr-trrr.
Its nest closed in a foam ball can evoke a small cave, and he willingly places it at the entrance of the caves, under the rocks, in a pile of wood, under the roots of a fallen tree... It is common in cities as well as in the countryside, but becomes rarer in warmer countries of southern Europe.
Many are sedentary, finding food all year round under dead leaves or under bark. But those in Northern Europe migrate south, despite their short wings. In winter, they sleep in small groups, and there are sometimes 6, 8 wrens lined up side by side on a branch.