Wren WESTERN BIRDS 



somewhat barred. The ordinary bird student, however, 

 will be pleased enough to find a Cactus Wren without 

 bothering about its fine points. 



GENUS SALPINCTES : EOCK WREN. 



Rock Wren: Salpinctes obsoletus obsoletus. 

 FAMILY— WRENS. 



In the Rock Wren of the west we have another in- 

 teresting bird whose nest is often more inaccessible than 

 is that of its cactus-dwelling relative, for although there 

 are no spines to be dealt with, there often is a precipi- 

 tous wall to scale before the home of this dweller of 

 rocky canyons and mountain sides can be found. And 

 then, when you think you have located the nest by the 

 tufts of grass and sticks protruding, the chances are it is 

 only a dummy made to deceive just such as you, and not 

 the real home at all, for like others of the family, the 

 birds are fond of building several nests. Dawson tells 

 us that the approaches to these cavern nests are lined 

 with pebbles of basalt, some of which are an inch or 

 more in diameter. Since the bird is not more than six 

 inches long itself, one cannot help wondering how it 

 managed these large stones. 



This Wren breeds along the length of the Pacific Coast 

 and on the near-by islands, extending east to western 

 North Dakota, central Nebraska (casually western 

 Iowa), and central Texas; wintering in the southern part 

 of its United States range. 



The bill is as long as the head and it is slightly de- 

 curved at the tip; the wings are longer than the tail, 

 which is rounded ; the under parts are a dull white which 

 becomes brownish on flanks; the sides of head, throat, 

 and breast are finely marked with brown ; the dull brown 



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