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The Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) is a small bird that lives in chaparral, oak woodlands, and bushland on the western coast of North America. It is the only species in the genus Chamaea.

Its common name reflects the uncertainty, and its external resemblance to both tits and wrens. It is by no means closely related to either, however.

The wrentit is a small, 15 cm (5.9 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.

Through DNA sequence analysis, it was subsequently discovered that the wrentit was more closely allied to Sylvia warblers and some aberrant "babblers". These consequently must be placed in the family Sylviidae together with the wrentit and the parrotbills which also turned out to be close relatives. Thus, the wrentit is the only American species of the "true" or sylviid warblers. Peculiarly, the Dartford warbler and close relatives like Marmora's warbler bear an uncanny resemblance to the wrentit; their ecology is quite similar indeed as all are birds of Mediterranean scrub. However, biogeography and the molecular data build a strong case for this similarity being a case of convergent evolution between birds that are close relatives but by far not as close as their appearance would suggest.

The wrentit is a sedentary (non-migratory) resident of a narrow strip of coastal habitat in the western coast of North America, being found from Oregon south through California, to Baja California, the north state of the Baja California peninsula.
It is usually restricted to certain chaparral and woodland habitats.

Wrentits mate for life, forming pair bonds only a few months after hatching. Both sexes sing; the faster rhythm of the male's song is one of the few ways to differentiate the sexes. Both sexes also defend their territory year-round and participate in building the nest.

This wrentit was photographed at the Torry Pines Nature Preserve, Torry Pines, CA.

Wrentit

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