House Wren

House Wren

House Wren

© Stephen

Construction Difficulty

moderate difficulty moderate

Download Nest Structure Plan

Download preview
By downloading this nest box plan you will be subscribed to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and NestWatch eNewsletters. You will receive a confirmation email with a link to complete subscription.

Sign Up For Our eNews

Cornell Lab eNews
NestWatch

Nesting Range

House Wren Range
Source: Birds of the World

Nesting Habitat

  • icon Forest
  • icon Open Woodland
  • icon Shrub
  • icon Town

Attach Nest Box To

  • Building icon Building
  • Dead Tree icon Dead Tree
  • Live tree icon Live tree
  • Pole icon Pole

Known Nesting Period

Not Nesting
Some Nesting Occurrence
Nesting in Most of Range
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
Source: Birds of the World

Nest Box Placement

Height Range From Ground

5ft
10ft
5–10 feet

Spacing Between Nest Boxes

100 feet

Facing

Entrance hole facing visualization
Any

Nest Box Measurements

Entrance Hole Size

Entrance hole size visualization 1"

Nest Box Depth (inside)

Nest box depth visualization 8"

Nest Box Width and Length

Nest box width and length visualization 5 1/2" 5 1/2"

Helpful Tips

  • Place nest box within 100' of woody vegetation, but make sure there is enough space around the box so the wrens can fly freely to and from the entrance hole.
  • Male House Wrens typically defend more than one cavity, and may fill all of the nest boxes in the territory with twiggy "mock nests." Only one will be selected and used by the female.
  • Both sexes may destroy the eggs or nestlings of nearby cavity nesters in the process of taking over a nest site, so it is a good idea to place nest boxes intended for other species at least 100' away from wren boxes and in more open habitat that is less attractive to wrens.