Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing emu-wrens. Yes, I realize this sounds a bit like a chimera bird because both these types of birds already exist. The emu-wren is neither an emu or a wren, although it has features of both these other creatures. Emu-wrens have six tail feathers that are fluffy and look like emu feathers, so that’s where the emu part of their name comes from. And, despite their similar size and appearance to true wrens, emu-wrens simply utilize a similar ecological niche– they live in similar habitats and have similar behaviors as true wrens, but they’re not related. This is an example of convergent evolution. Besides the other “not” wrens in their family, emu-wrens are more closely related to honeyeaters and Australian robins.

Emu-wrens live in dense habitats such as swamps, shrublands with low growing eucalyptus trees, coastal heaths, and tussock grass landscapes. Their surroundings may be either wet or dry, but the more important factor is density. These birds like the vegetation thick. Emu-wrens aren’t string fliers, they spend a majority of their time hopping around on the ground and foliage, rarely taking to the skies. Even when they do fly, it’s not far or for very long, they sort of just suck at it. This makes it difficult for them to disperse across their range, so they’re often found in patchy fragments that have been broken up by land development. Emu-wrens are also threatened by fires which they struggle to escape. Some populations have been entirely wiped out by fire-related disasters. They also face challenges from introduced predators such as cats and foxes. Of the three emu-wren species, one is listed as endangered. Natural predators to emu-wrens include native rats, snakes, and birds of prey.

They’re small birds, reaching about 7 inches (18 cm) long but more than half of that length is dedicated solely to their tail! They’re cinnamon colored with a redder head, and males have blue throat feathers which visually separate them from females. These blue feathers appear by two months of age in males and remain throughout the year– they don't go through an eclipse phase like some bird species.

Emu-wrens form pairs that last at least a season and have two clutches per year, one in September to November and one in December to February. This is in the southern hemisphere so it’s warm during that part of the year! The female emu-wren builds the domed-shaped nest in dense vegetation typically close to the ground. She does all the incubating for 10 days but her partner brings her food and supervises the area. The chicks take another 10 days before leaving the nest and they remain close to their parents for at least 2 months. Both parents feed them. The babies can become independent by 2 months of age, but the second brood of the year may remain in their parent's territory through winter. All of this life history information is based on only one of the emu-wren species, so there’s still plenty to learn about them!

These little birds are primarily insectivores. Their diet includes spiders, butterflies and their larvae, beetles, wasps, ants, and more! They’ll pick these treats off leaves as the forage on or near the ground. They also produced a high pitched trill that sounds like this: (trill)

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