Troglodytes pacificus
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Pacific wren (Troglodytes pacificus) is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. The species was formerly lumped together with either the winter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) of eastern North America alone, or also with the Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) of Eurasia, then under the merged name of northern wren with the scientific name T. troglodytes having priority.
It breeds along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California and inland as far as Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota. It migrates through and winters across the western half of the United States and Canada. The scientific name is taken from the Greek word troglodytes (from trogle a hole, and dyein to creep), meaning 'cave-dweller', and refers to its habit of disappearing into cavities or crevices whilst hunting arthropods or to roost.
Rufous brown above, richly colored below, barred with darker brown and dusky, even on wings and tail. The bill is dark brown, the legs pale brown. Young birds are less distinctly barred. By studying the songs and genetics of individuals in an overlap zone between Troglodytes hiemalis and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Wren sighting in Redwood National Park on a given day, based on 2,123 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 226 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, June–July and September–October
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Wren in Redwood National Park on a given day, against about 40% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pacific Wren sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Pacific Wren sightings, Redwood National Park ranks 2nd at about 60%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pacific Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Redwood National Park (2,123 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
