Wrens SONG—BIRDS.
irregular, being locally fairly plentiful during one season, and the next rare, but abundant in some adjoining place. It is very admit in eluding the curious, by disappearing in the long grass, and not emerging until it is a long distance away, very much as many of the Ducks escape notice by diving, and swimming under water.
This bird, as well as the next species, has a peculiar habit of building several nests every season. Samuels relates that these are built, it is believed, to secure protection for the female; so that when people search for the nest near where she is sitting, the male will lure the hunter to an empty nest. Its haunts, in this vicinity, are similar to those chosen by the Red-winged Blackbird.
Long-billed Marsh Wren: Cistothorus palustris.
PLATE 15. Fm. 2.
Length : About 5 inches.
Male and Female: Above clear brown. Whitish line over eye. Neck and back streaked sparingly with white. Wings and tail brown, the latter barred. Below, white, washed with pale brown. Bill nearly as long as head. Dark above; lower mandible light. Feet brown.
Song : Suggestive of the House Wren, but less agreeable, and at times quite harsh.
Season .- Summer resident. Early May to September.
Breeds: Throughout summer range.
Nest: Along river borders. Made of sedge and grasses suspended between tall reeds, above tide level. Rather bulky, with entrance on one side.
Eggs: 6-10, chocolate-brown.
Range: Eastern United States and southern Canada. In winter from the Gulf States south.
These Wrens have all the alert ways and nervous habits of the family. They inhabit marshy and reedy river wastes, and often build their torch-shaped nests in little colonies. They are abundant summer residents all along the Housar tonic River, from Stratford upward, following the course of tide rivers in preference to smaller streams. It is not an
easy nest to find, even if you know Where to look, and you 86
