House wren attacks Chickadee nest box with chicks

Warning: This video contains dramatic wildlife confrontations that may not be appropriate for all viewers.
This video was captured from one of the PixController, Inc. next box cameras. The nest box had a chickadee nest where 6 chicks had hatched 6 days ago. Between feedings of the chicks a house wren came into the box and removed 4 of the 6 chicks. 2 chicks were left in the nest box but out of the nest cavity. When the chickadee parent returned it sat on the chicks outside of the nest cavity then coaxed them back into the nest cavity. While out of the box getting more food the wren returned hours later and removed the two remaining chicks from the nest box. The female returned later and sat on an empty nest until around 1 AM when she decided to give up the nest box.

[@randyh7945]

Breaking and entering, assault, multiple kidnapping charges,.with intent to harm/ kill. What else!!!! Man these birds live the thug life.

[@SOSOLRAK]

Fucking cop

[@TheBaypacker]

Wow! The things we don't know if not for cams! At least not me! Very interesting! Thanks :)

[@rudiaja249]

The struggle of a moter that never stops. Really extraordinary.

[@starshine4414]

After watching this video, I have just realized why last summer one morning chickadee babies in my first bird-house suddenly disappeared then house wrens moved in right that afternoon even under the eyes of chickadee parents. Before I thought it was Raccoon that had eaten all baby birds, but here looks like house wrens were the killer✊

[@mchmch5327]

1:11 one, 1:25 two, 2:01 three, 2:27: four, 12:17 five, 12:46 six

[@Suleei]

People like you are a gift to this world.

[@kimj2067]

Just got off the phone with my local Wild Birds store owner. He had man wise suggestions. Buy a birdhouse with an overhang then attach a piece of cardboard bending down to conceal the hole. If the wrens don't see the hole they will NOT enter the house. You have to attach the cardboard to leave enough room so the chickadees can enter and leave. But bend it in an L shape from overhang to obscure hole entrance. They compete with chickadees for caterpillars as both have to feed their young caterpillars not seed.

[@TovKafur]

Aren't bird boxes cafes in fact?

[@syco579]

@TovKafur tf is wrong with you?

[@Sasser2015]

House Wren - "Now that I've taken all the babies, I'm also gonna f**k up the furniture." What an ass.

[@hawk5946]

Every bird hates other birds, just like humans, but in the bird world they can't help it, humans can!

[@cutenessbringsjoy3891]

I finally prevented house wrens from attacking my little chickadees by nailing a paint stirer stick to the roof, thereby blocking visibility of the entrance hole. This still allowed chickadee parents to enter and exit because the roof overhangs the hole.

[@vittorio.montalto336]

Non potrei accettare un cosa del genere anche se so che contro natura. Interverrei tempestivamente. Se no si fa estinguere un'altra razza.

[@verabolton]

I've never seen a mama bird caring for her chicks outside the nest. Fascinating to watch.

[@shantakidd6230]

Where did you see it here? The black headed bird in the video was the mother. The brown bird was removing the other birds chicks to take control of the nest.

[@verabolton]

@@shantakidd6230 Did you watch the video? 8:40 She removes the faecal sac 9:00 feeding 9:20 waking the chick up 10:28 feeding All done outside the nest cup.

[@shannonspage9360]

Yes this actually very unique footage for a few reasons. The mother bird re warms the chick and draws both of them back to the nest cup along with feeding outside of the nesting cup. The European equivalent of these…the coaltit or the various other tits will not do this. They would have just ignored the young chicks outside of nesting cup. They would have tried to remove the chicks themselves because of how sluggish they were. The part of the issue is they used a nesting box with too large of an opening.

[@realitycheck9112]

Her birds were so scared when she took them back they just perished

[@earthtoemily4855]

What us the wren doing with the chicks? Is it just removing and dropping them for the nest box? Seems too big too eat?

[@troyf.9050]

It's like these nest boxes have become food storages to other birds

[@MayMayCho-ph3xd]

..ာ

[@MayMayCho-ph3xd]

@@randyreal5871 ာ.

[@MayMayCho-ph3xd]

@@randyreal5871 .ာ.ာ..

[@MayMayCho-ph3xd]

@@randyreal5871 .....ာ..

[@sandrawhitman3389]

I have a nest box in the back yard, no one disturbs the box, exec me, ( I hope). The stand is a plastic fence post. It is slippery and prevents the snake from climbing and I don't have plants around the post.

[@scorpiosquill1954]

wow That was heart breaking and I did not know birds were so mean...nature is vicious

[@wolfpackflt670]

The bird was just killing off future food competition.

[@psgwk1252]

Its natural

[@WineMFmaker]

LOL HOWEVER.... THE way bluebird conducted herself is almost just as heartless from a literal sense. Read my post above

[@psgwk1252]

Nature is wonderful

[@turdburgalar6111]

Um, birds dont care about conduct. Their birds.

[@wijdanalkhashab4092]

But why..?

[@angiechivers5896]

Heart breaking 💔

[@corrinjessen]

House wrens have one of the largest ranges of any song bird in the world. Its important to put many bird houses that have smaller holes for the wrens away from the other nest boxes. Male wrens have territory sizes depending on the surrounding area and their age. They build multiple nests for the female to check and pick what one is best so put a lot of small holed nest boxes together in an area to keep the male in that area and keep him building. Try keeping the nest boxes that aren't for the wrens far away from the wrens about a 100ft or so. House wrens don't like dense forest. It is hard for them to see predictors. House wrens are more of an open brushy habitat with a stand of trees near by. Keep blue bird nest boxes also far away. If u live in a very urban setting are u most likely wont have to worry about this seeming chickadees, blue birds, and tuftitmouse are more rural area birds.

[@corrinjessen]

Female house wrens may or may not be discouraged by nest boxes that have bigger holes. House wrens like appropriate size nest holes but may have to check nest boxes with larger holes if small hole nest boxes are not available. Keep in mind that they will nest in natural homes as well (meaning tree cavities or maybe in your house or garage) house wrens will attack other nest boxes (even if they have their own) if they feel that the other family is completion for space or food. My female did not lay eggs because of the nest box hole size.

[@corrinjessen]

And one more thing. If u have a large property u may want to put two groups of small hole nesting boxes far from each other and other nest boxes. This way if tour property is large enough to have 2 male house wrens they will both be preoccupied with their nest boxes. Other wise the two males might fight and the looser will go try to get a chickadee or tuftitmouse nest box.

[@DutyJames]

Ok i'm impressed

[@cruzechevy3485]

And house sparrows are another predator too.

[@drive9997]

Corrin Jessen 😘

[@Goldenrod636]

Question: when the wren removed the chicks did it just drop them on the ground

[@beeniebird6632]

Yes that's exactly what it did

[@lamwilshangdhi612]

I think the other Bird Wren eats it, seems she kills the first two to save for later That's so sad, the mother shouldn' t have left.

[@inunganbasoraisam7640]

2:34 she ate the food that she bring for her babies and checked at the 2 remaining babies So sad

[@apus]

Зачем делать такое большое отверстие? Автор, надо думать немного вначале. 25-27 мм синице больше не надо. И при этом бывают попытки влезть внутрь, но не успешные. А тут леток 40-45 как я вижу.

[@vadims8742]

Для большой синицы делают отверстие 35 мм. Для лазоревки - 27-30 мм. Но в будке для больших синиц может поселиться лазоревка. При этом, в отверстие 35 мм спокойно пролезает воробей. Так что диаметром летка тут не защитишь. Больших синиц - точно не защитишь. Этой весной я повесил будки для синиц. В одной заселились большие синицы и вывели потомство. Но где-то за 2-5 дней до вылета птенцов воробей всех птенцов (6 или 7) убил! Какая сучья дрянь этот воробей!

[@carmine2262]

I noticed 2 baby birds were left after the initial attack. It looks like the first one on the right ended up eating and pooping first and made it's way back to the nest first. Then the second baby is fed that's still outside the nest and makes it's way back to the nest second but in the last attack by the wren, it appears that it only pulls 1 more chick out from the nest, not two. What happened to that first bird that made it back to the nest?

[@TovKafur]

If you look closely, you will see the last flight of the first baby bird at 12:18.

[@stormbornapostle5188]

"Simba...look at the stars! ...they are indifferent to our suffering."

[@37Iulian]

It looks to me: chickadee is the most vulnerable to enemies! Only because of this fact; from now I will defend them and forever! Only bird houses for Chickadee - smallest and less protected!

[@asiansrus2]

Nest boxes have become billboards for predators on where to find the resources. It’s something we in the birding world did not think about. So many research papers can be written on this paradigm.

[@shannonspage9360]

The birds didn’t attack to eat the chicks it was territorial purposes. The nest box wasn’t a billboard. The wren was removing food competition and also removed nesting materials in an effort to wreck the nest enough that the chickadees won’t try to nest there again. They share food resources. This is part of the reason people will reduce the entrance size of nesting boxes to the smallest size possible for chickadees. But obviously the person who put up the box doesn’t have control over which birds choose to nest inside but people who know they get chickadees will put up nesting boxes with a much smaller entrance hole than this

[@elizabethgaspodnetich4322]

Poor little mamma bird! She looks so confused! Life in the wild can be a real scary time.

[@Mustafa-ep8ez]

Elizabeth Gaspodnetich ... In Syria Iraq Afghanistan and Palestine life same like this bird.

[@mohammadimrose2037]

@silverbud oh my goodness !! how can a human being speak like this way !!

[@tesar554]

@silverbud people like ali haider who killed innocent people & thousand hundred baby in syria..they sy'i..people who workship to god ali

[@dannl24]

@@Mustafa-ep8ez israel is the best

[@carolinesoles4848]

Wow, I did not know this!! Thanks for the video, as sad as it is . I know and have witnessed House Sparrows doing this to my Tree Swallows. In fact, when I extracted the nest mid season, the poor tree swallow was still there, backed into the corner of the box with its wings spread, and the sparrow just built its nest against it and carried on... No, nature is not nice at all, and yes our putting up nest boxes and feeders for that matter could be the dinner bell, but I think that the risks are worth the rewards. Last year however (summer of 2020) was a very wet year when it needed to be dry, and most of my nestlings died of starvation, not predation. Hopefully this year will be better, and I will repair the boxes, and monitor the boxes more carefully after watching these videos. Thanks for sharing.

[@KylieJStan]

I had blue tits in my box nest before. There was 7 baby's, sadly they died because other birds were eating them. So I decided to make a new chance and I got 9 baby's this time and I do really hope they make it this time

[@teresalach9379]

Ale horror... jaka tragedia... Biedna sikorka i jaka wytrwała i pełna nadziei, mimo wszystko.... 😣 Natura...

[@jozefkrotak7521]

Nenavidim tieto videa, vyvolavaju viac otazok ako davaju odpovede. Ten utocnik sleduje to hniezdo, lebo utocia vtedy ked tam niesu rodicia. Ak sleduje hniezdo a caka na vhodny moment, kto sa stara o jeho hniezdo, alebo je to nejaky jeho instinkt zabijat ine druhy? Preco to hniezdo na konci nicil, pokial to nechcel obsadit? V com si tieto dva druhy konkuruju, ze to ide do takehoto konfliktu? V prirode, okrem cloveka, nic nezabija pre nic za nic, v prirode sa zabija pre potravu alebo pre teritorium, na ktorom sa potrava vyskytuje ale zeby takto sofistikovane, ze zabije potomstvo?

[@rowankrencik]

fucking wrens killed the newborn chickadees in the birdhouse I made for them last year. What's extra shitty is that these chickadees trusted me and nested relatively close to my house every year, now I'm sure they won't return

[@isabellam1936]

So many emotions in one video. 😭

[@mauriciolima1169]

Triste

[@GerryDanen]

Wow, what a cruel education.

[@abbeyjones4952]

Aww that broke my heart! The biddy came to feed his babies but no babies were there... :(

[@jakedoesntreid]

That's my favorite part!

[@palabznz5954]

ME TOO!!!

[@antonitonavarra3408]

Abbey Jones tu es guapas y tu yo beso y quiero muchos❤

[@BrodasaurusRex1492]

Abbey Jones It’s a she not a he

[@mesanges5499]

what? you are evil!!

[@yuridiap-s7236]

Porque mató a los pajaritos de ese nido? :(

[@karlepaul6632]

I thought the wren didn't get the last one. I know there were initially 6, with 4 of them getting yanked out, leaving just 2, which were no longer in the actual nest itself. Momma comes back, chills out for a bit, eventually gets the 2 aforementioned birds back INTO the nest, and before too long she had to split again. I definitely saw the 1st out of the 2 grabbed by the wren, but not the second one. Was it grabbed at the same time as the first chick? Or did the wren grab it when it was picking up large amounts of the nest it was destroying and throwing it away, which just happened to have a baby chickadee in it? Anyway, this stuff is ALWAYS interesting to me.

[@anapaulabentobroetto3846]

Ai que dó

[@crazyfx5242]

Disney will never show you this.

[@thorntonhepworth9747]

Keep in mind that even though the House Wren won this territorial battle, that it only takes one bird of prey or corvid (not to mention other species) to predate the wrens and do to them what they did to the Chickadees. House Wrens have plenty of predators so beating their chests over a hapless group of Chickadees is not what this is about. Nature took its course, but nature is never over.

[@ureasmith3049]

The wrens don't eat the chickadees. They throw them out of the nest. They don't like competition near their nesting site.

[@elgs1980]

16:08 shows the chickadee has a partner looking for food. It looks like they are not programmed to have the strategy that one to look for food and the other one to protect the babies.

[@SunitaSharma-ys5ez]

oh god😢

[@kojtxiszoonyobhlubkoj6935]

The last two chicks is still blind n know how to craw back to the nest

[@TovKafur]

Baby birds ought to be blind. I recommed blinding with a heated needle.

[@louisemalcolm9616]

that is freak sad that makes me mad as hell.

[@dennism5565]

just recently I witnessed a pair of bluebirds and a pair of goldfinch fighting with a house wren in the bluebird house. The wren must have won as it took up residence in the house.

[@saqibtariq7838]

So good

[@MzChelxoxo]

Beautiful song from the wren but I had no idea that they sung this while destroying a nest. :-/ that’s nature for you.

[@johngarozzo7138]

The wren wasn't the one singing

[@MzChelxoxo]

John Garozzo no because he was singing, I’m familiar with the house wren song, and it’s beautiful.

[@yathinchandan4976]

Sooooo sad

[@saucemom903]

I love it how after the wren takes away most of the babies and the parent comes back- you can very loudly hear the wren singing away in victory right to them.

[@ohno8538]

How can you loved that? Its very sad for Mother.

[@saucemom903]

Tetea Ori Nature is brutal and amazing.

[@ohno8538]

I know right? But still,don't love it LOL

[@davigilmar3528]

msofficial fuckyn weird

[@jasonnovak7229]

Just an innocent child :) hmmmmmmmmmmm....

[@johnjude2685]

Dag 2 of my favorite

[@chilidoritos2866]

Bird logic.. oh I only have 2 more chicks left let me leave again to get food

[@J4m3rs0n]

It's the same logic when the Cuckoo baby put out the other chick from the nest, in front of the mon, and she nothing does.

[@youtubister]

Astonishing, the way the chickadee manages to coax the two chicks back into the nest, only for it to be in vain in the end :( Most interesting footage.

[@ruthborgesalves9563]

Até nos animais existem o espírito da maldade, crueldade, nunca vamos entender o q acontece 😭😭😭

[@vox9622]

Tá cheio de passarinhos cruéis..

[@blakemiles3728]

it is dropping the chicks.outside poor lil birds

[@TovKafur]

I hope they were suffering before death.

[@tungralama1687]

TovKafur fuck you !

[@g.j.1033]

@@tungralama1687 F*** you too!

[@syco579]

TovKafur you weren’t raised properly were you’

[@girlbonsai]

Mother Nature 🌬

[@Soapandwater6]

I love both chickadees and wrens. I would never have believed wrens would do this if I hadn't seen the video. Nature is cruel. It looked like there might have been only one chickadee parent. If there were two to guard the nest, the attack might not have happened.

[@constanzaoyarce6563]

oh que malvados los chercanes :(

[@montagusappling3076]

Let me rearrange this over here, now that's more like it

[@zeonghead5675]

painful

[@user-ml6sg9qv7y]

عندهم. قانون تحديد النسل.

[@user-hv8zt5kr3u]

Такой дурной матери птицы я ещё не видел...вместо того, чтобы сидеть в гнезде и охранять своих птенцов, она часами где-то летает...

[@leksukijo]

Why she do that ??

[@TovKafur]

These baby birds want to eat. The best way to avoid food competition is to throw them on the ground where ants will do the rest.

[@kagome1000o]

I kept saying in my head plzzz don’t find the Last one over and over

[@natzsztvofficial1976]

Supporting

[@MimiDallasGuzzardo]

This is why they say don’t have bird houses ...easy attack unless u find on perfect for specific bird

[@Alex.R.O.P]

@silverbud She has a good point, compared to your shitty opinion. it wouldn't suprise me, if you're british.

[@darkracer1252]

@silverbud birdhouses are a bad idea for 2 reasons. 1 it's easy picking and easy spotted. 2 without these fucking bird boxes in my goddamn neighboorhood i can actually fucking sleep at sun rise.

[@AveMcree]

@@darkracer1252 bird house or no bird house... These things still happen and you'll still get no sleep

[@archerlane9802]

Not all birds and people are nice... There are probably some wrens that would not behave that way. And there certainly are people that would not home invade.

[@Merlinsg12]

Warum wurde ein so großes Einflugloch gewählt???? Da kann ja jeder Vogel rein und raus wie es ihm beliebt! Für eine Meise scheint mir das Loch viel zu groß.

[@wallacewithoutgromit]

Both species are native. A large enough area has to be kept clear of other birds to provide enough weed seed and insects to feed a family. That is why birds sing to us really threaten each other to them. House wrens prefer nesting near thick bushes and man made structures while blue birds prefer large open areas of grass kept short by grazing animals or frequent mowing. It is in habitat border areas or in places where short grass is allowed to grow up that chickadees and blue birds lose out. Wrens must have no sense of smell. We have had wrens raise a family right on top of a fully grown dead blue bird chick earning the species a new name, the deadly tywrennasaurus rex. They are related you know.

[@kurumais]

where do you he wren was taking them? his trips were pretty quick. do they just drop to the ground and them there?

[@cruzechevy3485]

House sparrows is another problem.

[@fantasyexpertsunil]

1 chicks survived ! Anybody know this ?

[@jadeponifer161]

It's in the description box

[@jaydondawson3810]

That's sad😵

[@mariadasdoresmauriciosobri6228]

Lua de.os.filhote

[@jillsoto8807]

Why would a House Wren do this? Does it want the nest?

[@veronicafitzrandolph2213]

It might want the nest, or it might want to eliminate the competition for food, to give its own young ones a better chance.

[@darkracer1252]

this is why you shouldn't build birdhouses. they are NOT hidden.

[@olgatelegina486]

Какой интересный инстинкт у птенцов - притвориться мертвыми для врага

[@sammm5699]

I am really sad for mama, she did a big efforts to feed her babies but at the end she lost them OMG nature is big battel between alot of parties to get a survival

[@user-om2bn8vk4h]

Наверное эта птица хотела занять домик и всех выкинула.

[@Mike-ky9jz]

I guess when your a single mama bird, kinda hard to feed and watch all at the same time...

[@lagatha1037]

She needed wick and welfare

[@elevate32767]

oh noo her babies are gone

[@ghassanqalama]

Sad

[@babitadevi7978]

Wow

[@user-rp8pj3nx6r]

Nature is what's she is Larges worlds are going together

[@kamrrytv4142]

So sad

[@offgridphyllismathison5798]

the entrance was to big :( make it smaller next time

[@randyreal5871]

www.hironbec.com/hironbecE.html This stops heavier sparrows a lot of people say some chickadees won’t use 1 1/8 hole box until they open the holes up

[@user-nc8kx1ip1x]

😭😭😭😢😢

[@vladimirescobar3344]

instinto cruel

[@soraemty3812]

16:09 :^(

[@user-rh5js6rm5o]

鳥會偷走了別的鳥窩！？

[@Toihoi2034]

นกตัวนั้นเอาลูกนกไปไหน ?

[@NistkastenLivestream]

The entrance-hole was too big! Resize them into a smaller hole to 32 mm and secure it with metal around it to prevent damages and this will be not happen again!

[@TovKafur]

Why? Baby birds being eaten is a hilarious sight!

[@TovKafur]

@Dio Brando I'm sure you saw it a lot, Pet Shop probably prefers his meals to be alive and chirping. He is a cool birb, unlike these pink failures.

[@SONORSQ2guy]

The ugly ass babies are there to provide nourishment to animals above them in the food chain. Although cruel, this is the lifecycles of nature.

[@tejusokhi215]

That was sad wren was so cruel but it is nature

[@text97]

What did the wren do to those chicks? Did she eat them? Or feed them to her babies? Or did she just drop them outside to kill them?

[@verabolton]

I don't think wrens eat baby birds. They destroy other nests in their territory to secure enough food for their own offspring. It's a very common strategy in nature.

[@XX-uw2nl]

😧

[@ieahsan]

I have read most of comments. People, be very careful, the bird doesn't have any feeling and the way it tried to feed their empty nest explains that it's not human being ...

[@PremlatasKitchen]

That's so sad.....have a nice day...stay safe and healthy ....⚘🌸🌼🌺💕🌹🥰😍🏵💐

[@ervin65]

That wren runs an illegal adoption agency!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@zacharycat]

those nest boxes are death traps

[@TovKafur]

Yes! Baby birds will born in it, and after that they will be microwaved by humans. All of them. They will chirp and cry in pain, call their mommy who is being bissected as heat and pain will slowly build up in their tiny bodies until their organs will rupture, and life will leave their tiny stupid bodies.

[@user-jc8yw8nl3y]

TovKafur you okay buddy?

[@syco579]

ᒫᑎᔫ he’s either trolling or wasn’t raised properly

[@shannonspage9360]

The birds that use these nest boxes are cavity nesters. They don't build nests in the open. If the nest was in a nest box it would be in a tree cavity. The person installing the nest box has to make sure the entrance opening is appropriate for the type of birds they intend to have nesting in it and make sure the entrance opening isn't too large. If the entrance hole us too big this is what happens.

[@esmerishankuliyeva3208]

ne cindirrr qusdu o bezi qadinlar kimi yuva dagidan

[@unknownbrent4728]

Thats nature

[@socorroduarte779]

Los Tiro 😯😱😡

[@floruwu1815]

Wooow😇👍🥰🐣🐥

[@rocky9418]

The hole is too big