Singing star is a ball of energy
Here’s a piece of trivia that could come in handy for festive family quizzes this Boxing Day. Anyone asked to name Britain’s commonest bird should look no further than the much-loved wren.
Long known as Jenny Wrens – because they were thought to be the mate of
Robin Redbreast – these all-action balls of energy were given the honour of appearing on the reverse side of the pre-decimal farthing.
And, despite being small in stature, they have spread their stubby wings across almost every square inch of the countryside, scurrying in reedbeds and rattling their explosive song in gardens, parks, woods and even our remotest windswept islands.
Amorous males, so enthralled by the desire to pass on their genes to future generations, busy themselves building several nests each spring to impress partners. Such productivity means pairs can raise up to 12 chicks per season.
The British population was recently calculated at 11 million pairs (a sizable increase from the 8.6m pairs reported by the Avian Population Estimates Panel in 2013), making it both our most numerous and widespread species.
For such a healthy population, it came as a big surprise this month when the wren was given an “amber” listing in the new Birds of Conservation Concern report, which provides traffic light warning colours for 245 British species. Fast declining swifts, greenfinches and house martins have been added to the Red List.
Reading through the report in the latest edition of British Birds journal, the reason for the wren’s amber listing is made clear as the UK has become significant in an international context, being home to more than 20% of Europe’s population.
Boxing Day is traditionally a bad day for wrens. Once they were hunted down by mobs for supposedly betraying the first Christian martyr St Stephen, whose feast day falls on December 26.
Some authorities believe the slaughter dates back to winter solstice ceremonies in the Bronze Age.