The wren, meanwhile, continued his rounds, moving from nest box to nest box, laying claim to them all. A female wren, if one ...

When the wren finishes what it must think is “good enough,” he will fly off, perhaps to build another nest for another bird. His mate-in-waiting must now take over.

In about 15 wren species, multiple nests are built within a male’s territory, occasionally by both male and female, but often built mainly by the male (no data available for six of these species).