Eurasian Wren vs Northern Fulmar
Troglodytes troglodytes compared with Fulmarus glacialis
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Eurasian Wren | Northern Fulmar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Troglodytes troglodytes | Fulmarus glacialis |
| Order | Passeriformes | Procellariiformes |
| Family | Troglodytidae | Procellariidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 9.5 cm (3.7 in) | 47.0 cm (18.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 15.0 cm (5.9 in) | 107.0 cm (42.1 in) |
| Weight | 9.0 g (0.32 oz) | 750.0 g (26.46 oz) |
| Diet | Insects and spiders, gleaned from dense vegetation, rock crevices, and bark. Active and restless forager. | Fish, squid, crustaceans, offal from fishing vessels, and zooplankton. Feeds by surface-seizing and shallow plunge-diving. |
| Clutch Size | 3-9 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Eurasian Wren
Dense undergrowth in woodlands, gardens, hedgerows, and rocky areas. Prefers tangled vegetation close to the ground.
Northern Fulmar
Open ocean and sea cliffs. Breeds on cliff ledges and grassy slopes on northern coastlines. Pelagic outside breeding season.
Song & Call Comparison
Eurasian Wren
Extraordinarily loud for its tiny size: a rapid, powerful stream of trills, buzzes, and churring phrases. One of Europe's loudest songs by volume relative to body weight.
Northern Fulmar
A nasal, cackling 'kak-kak-kak-kak' or grunting 'uh-uh-uh' at the nest and colony. Less melodic than petrels. In flight gives occasional single nasal calls.
Geographic Range & Migration
Eurasian Wren
Eurasia from Iceland and western Europe to Japan. The only wren species found outside the Americas.
Northern Fulmar
North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Breeds from the Arctic south to Britain, France, and New England.
Conservation Status
Eurasian Wren
Northern Fulmar
How to Tell Them Apart
Eurasian Wren
Warm rufous-brown upperparts with fine dark barring. Pale buffy underparts with barred flanks. Short, often cocked tail.
Thin, slightly curved, dark brown bill
Northern Fulmar
Light morph: white head and underparts with grey wings and back. Dark morph: entirely grey. Tube-nosed bill and stiff-winged flight distinctive at sea.
Yellowish hooked bill with prominent tubular nostrils on top
About These Birds
Eurasian Wren
The Eurasian wren is one of the smallest birds in Europe but possesses an astonishingly loud song for its size. Males build multiple dome-shaped nests, from which the female selects one to line and use. In British folklore, the wren is known as the king of birds for outwitting the eagle in a flying contest.
Northern Fulmar
The northern fulmar is a long-lived seabird that can survive over 40 years. It defends its nest by projectile-vomiting a foul-smelling stomach oil at intruders, which can mat the feathers of predators and cause fatal loss of waterproofing. Fulmars have expanded their breeding range dramatically southward over the past two centuries.