This house wren is literally the "home wrecker" of the bird world

The house wren is a small and dainty looking bird, but its behaviour is that of a feisty and competitive animal with a dark side. The female is known to be a cantankerous and demanding mate. Eager to impress her, the male builds a nest and awaits her approval. In more than half of the cases, the female discards most of the sticks and rebuilds it, having little regard for the male's feelings about watching his work being picked apart.Show more

The male house wren will often watch this process patiently and take his place alongside the female as she lays eggs. Together, they will raise the young. The female spends most of the time on the nest and the male brings her food as she does her job keeping the eggs warm. But occasionally, the male has a wandering eye while the female is dismantling his nest. In some cases, he finds himself with a more accepting female and the two will pair up as a more agreeable couple.

The female house wren's cranky side extends beyond her own nest and is directed toward others in the area. She is not tolerant of other birds in the area that would compete for her food supply or nesting grounds. She fills the nests with sticks to make them unusable, driving the birds away from her territory. Those who persist and successfully lay eggs might find their nests under attack as the female house wren will peck holes in the shells of the eggs. She earns the label "homewrecker" for her aggressive intolerance of other bird families in her neighbourhood.