| Group | Wrens |
| Code | ABPBG10020 |
| Order | Passeriformes |
| Family | Troglodytidae |
| Author | (Wilson, 1810) |
| Rank | G5 (definitions) |
| Occurrence | SM (definitions) |
| Scale | C (definitions) |
| Western UP | Menominee, Marquette, Ontonagon, Dickinson, Iron, Delta, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw |
| Eastern UP | all |
| Northern LP | Cheboygan, Arenac, Alpena, Alcona, Bay, Benzie, Newaygo, Oceana, Midland, Mason, Ogemaw, Manistee, Mecosta, Otsego, Roscommon, Clare, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Crawford, Isabella, Iosco |
| Southern LP | all |
Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes
Marsh 2
view decision rule term definitions
| Habitats | Regen | Sap | Pole | Sm Saw | Lg Saw | Uneven |
| Aspen | no | no | no | no | no | - |
| Paper Birch | no | no | no | no | no | - |
| Oak | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Assorted Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Northern Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Spruce/Fir | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Hemlock | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Jack Pine | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Red Pine | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| White Pine | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Conifer Plantations | no | no | no | no | no | - |
| Mixed Upland Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Mixed Northern Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Mixed Upland Conifer | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Mixed Pine | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Swamp Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Bottomland Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Tamarack | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Northern White Cedar | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Black Spruce | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Mixed Lowland Hardwoods | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Mixed Lowland Conifer | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Non-Forested | Marsh 2 (MARSH) | |||||
| Special Features | Riparian |
Habitat: The Marsh Wren is particularly abundant in narrow-leaf cattail and cord-grass marshes, where both adults and young feast on insects and other small invertebrates from the marsh vegetation and floor.
Quality of local habitat plays a paramount role in breeding behavior. A male's territory covers 0.1 to 0.2 ha, and is used for courtship, breeding, and feeding. Males residing in thick cattails often attract two, sometimes three females. Nest placement over standing water in dense vegetation may protect them during windy conditions and also tends to prevent destruction by grazing cattle. The male builds five to six nests and then uses them to attract and court females.
Its disappearance from counties previously described as having large breeding populations is probably due to chronic loss of marshland.
Habitat: Breeding: Large fresh or brackish marshes with abundant tall herbaceous vegetation such as cattails, purple loosestrife, sedges or rushes, shores of sluggish rivers, inland ponds. Wintering: Tidal marshes with tall herbaceous vegetation.
Special Habitat Requirements: Marshes.
Habitat: Marshes (cattail, bulrush, or brackish). Breeds in many fresh and brackish marsh situations, usually with a large area of cattail, bulrushes, or cordgrass; also in other kinds of low rank growth along shallow water. Winters in a wider variety of large and small marshes, including salt marshes and brushy edges of ponds or irrigation ditches.
Diet: Mostly insects. Feeds on a wide variety of insects, including beetles, flies, moths, caterpillars, ants, grasshoppers. May include various aquatic insects and their larvae, including those of mosquitoes and damselflies. Also eats spiders and snails.
Nest: Male builds several incomplete or "dummy" nests in territory; female chooses one and adds lining, or may build a new one. Nest is anchored to standing cattails, bulrushes, or bushes in marsh, usually 1-3 feet above water, sometimes higher. Nest is oval or football-shaped mass with entrance on side, woven of wet grass, cattails, rushes, lined with fine grass, plant down, feathers.