Cobb's Wren

The plumage is brown, greyer on the head and breast and more rufous on the tail. There are dark bars on the flight feathers and tail. The bill is long, blackish and slightly curved. The main confusion species is the grass wren which is smaller with a shorter bill, buff eyestripe and dark streaks on the back and head. Cobb's wrens have a number of buzzing calls, and their song is a series of jumbled trills and whistles. The song can be heard from August to February and varies between individuals, with different males having different song patterns.

The birds typically inhabit dense stands of tussac grass near the coast. They are often found on beaches, searching among kelp and debris to find small invertebrates such as insects and amphipods. They are tame and can often be approached closely. When disturbed, they prefer to slip away like a mouse between boulders or tussac clumps rather than fly.

Breeding. The nest is a ball of grass lined with feathers and tussac root fibres. It is built on or near the ground among tussac or in a rock crevice. The eggs are pinkish with small reddish spots, three or four are laid in a clutch. The eggs are laid from early October to December, and two broods are probably raised during the breeding season.