Chamaea fasciata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) is a small bird that lives in chaparral, oak woodlands, and bushland on the western coast of North America, from Oregon south through California to northern Baja California. It is the only species in the genus Chamaea.
Its systematics have been the subject of much debate, the wrentit having been placed in many different families by different authors for as long as it has been known to science. Its common name reflects the uncertainty, and its external resemblance to both tits and wrens. It is not related to either, however. More recent and comprehensive phylogenetic studies support it belonging to the parrotbill family Paradoxornithidae.
The wrentit is a small, 14–16 cm (5.5–6.3 in) bird with uniform dull olive, brown, or grayish plumage. It has short wings and a long tail often held high (hence the comparison to wrens). It has a short bill and a pale iris. Given its retiring nature and loud voice, the wrentit is more likely to be detected by its call than by sight. The distinct sound that it makes is similar to the sound of a ping-pong ball falling on the table.
The wrentit when first described by William Gambel in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wrentit sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 124th most-seen of the 169 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wrentit in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Yosemite National Park's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain against 25 mm in September.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wrentit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Wrentit sightings, Yosemite National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Redwood National Park (United States, about 30%), Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, about 10%) and Channel Islands National Park (United States, under 5%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Wrentit that you can see in Yosemite National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Dark-eyed Junco (about 80%), Steller's Jay (about 80%) and Common Raven (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wrentit is recorded against all the birds logged in Yosemite National Park (49 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.
