350 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



corn, is merely a trifle, amounting to only 3 per cent ; and, though 

 some of the corn may be taken from newly planted fields, it is 

 amply paid for by the May-beetles, wild fruit, or seeds. Taken 

 all in all, the Brown Thrasher is a useful bird, and probably does 

 just as good work in its secluded retreats as it would about the 

 garden, for the swamps and groves are no doubt the breeding 

 grounds of many insects that migrate thence to attack the farmer's 

 crops." (Beal, " Some Common Birds in their Relation to 

 Agriculture.") 



WRENS. 



Troglodytidce. 



The House Wren {Troglodytes aedon aedon) is a tolerably 

 common summer resident of our orchards. " As regards food 

 habits, the House Wren is entirely beneficial. Practically, he can 

 be said to live upon animal food alone, for an examination of 

 52 stomachs showed that 98 per cent of the stomach contents 

 was made up of insects or their allies, and only 2 per cent was 

 vegetable, including bits of grass and similar matter, evidently 

 taken by accident with the insects. Half of this food consisted 

 of grasshoppers and beetles ; the remainder of caterpillars, bugs, 

 and spiders. As the House Wren is a prolific breeder, frequently 

 rearing from twelve to sixteen young in a season, a family of 

 these birds must cause considerable reduction in the number of 

 insects in a garden. Wrens are industrious foragers, searching 

 every tree, shrub, or vine for caterpillars, examining every post 

 and rail of the fence and every cranny in the wall for insects or 

 spiders. They do not, as a rule, fly far afield, but work indus- 

 triously in the immediate vicinity of their nests. In this way they 

 become valuable aids in the garden or orchard, and by providing 

 suitable nesting boxes they may be induced to take up residence 

 where their services will do most good. . Their eccentricities in 

 the selection of a home are well known. Almost anything from 

 an old cigar box to a tomato can, an old teapot, a worn-out boot, 

 or a horse's skull, is acceptable, provided it be placed well up from 

 the ground and out of reach of cats and other prowlers. 



" It does not seem possible to have too many Wrens, and every 

 effort should be made to protect them and to encourage their 

 nesting about the house." (Beal, " Some Common Birds in their 

 Relation to Agriculture.") 



