The Carolina Wren is a newcomer to Vermont, coming along slowly northward as the winters become milder. It's teakettle, teakettle, teakettle song is a fixture in states to the south, and is now becoming more familiar in suburban areas in southern and central Vermont (Renfrew 2013).
Almost all of these Vermont wrens are almost certainly going to be the same subspecies, Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus. This species is very difficult to judge dichotomously - indeed, Birds of the World says that aging and sexing the bird in the field is almost impossible. However, there are three main groupings of the ten subspecies, and it is relatively easy to eliminate two of the groupings using common features, without resorting to "range" as the justification for identification.
Birds of the World (Haggerty and Morton 2020) says:
Dorsum bright rusty- or chestnut-brown; supercilium buff; upper surface of rectrices chestnut; ventrum buffy to tawny-buff; flanks typically unmarked; feet pale; body size averages larger.
Pyle (1997) writes:
Averages medium large; bill short ...; upperparts bright rufous-brown; underparts with a moderate tawny-buff wash. ... Birds north of s. OK-s. VA ("carolinianus") may average larger and paler ... but variation is weak, broadly clinal, and/or due to intergradation with other subspecies [sic]."
Separating the ludovicianus group from the berlandieri Group ("Carolina Wren (Northeast Mexico/South Texas)" on eBird) depends upon having a bright rufous back, and a tawny or rufous ventrum. However, this will only eliminate lomitensis (in Texas). For the other two subspecies in this group - berlandieri and tropicalis - lack of barring on the flanks will suffice.
The other grouping, the White-browed Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus albinucha/subfulvus can be separated fairly easily: if the bird has a buffy supercilium, it is not a White-browed. Lack of a contrasting white-throat or a speckled breast can also be used to separate those two subspecies, individually.
To date, there are no records of other subspecies in Vermont. The record listed when this page was created was the first record of the Northern Carolina Wren in Vermont.
Nomenclature:
Salient identificiation points:
Example Records:
Local subspecies records:
Needs:
These needs reflect eBird's database, and whether the bird has photos, audio, or sightings in a given area. "None" denotes that this species has been satisfactorily documented.