The throat and breast are white, transitioning to rufous brown on the lower belly and flanks.

The other subspecies vary from the nominate in the extent and intensity of some colors and the thickness and amount of barring.

The subspecies are found thus:[2][4] The bay wren is closely tied to water over most of its range, though in Nicaragua the habitat is drier.

It inhabits dense, fairly low, vegetation such as thickets along watercourses, overgrown clearings, roadsides, and the understory of secondary forest.

They were made by both sexes from plant stems, grass, and other vegetable materials and lined with finer fibers.

The bay wren's song is loud, "a rapid repetition of clear, rich-toned, slurred, ringing whistles, trills, and warbles" sometimes given antiphonally.