THE WESTERN MARSH WREN. 301 



No. 116. 



WESTERN MARSH WREN. 



A. (J. U. No. 725 c. Telmatodytes palustris plesius ( .berhoiser). 



Synonym. — Interior Marsh Wren. 



Description. — Adult: Crown blackish; forehead hght brown centrally, — 

 color sometimes spreading superficially over entire crown ; hind neck and scapn- 

 lars light brown (raw umber, nearly) ; rump warm russet; a triangular patch on 

 back blackish, with prominent white stripes and some admixture of russet; wings 

 and tail fuscous or blackish on inner webs, brown with black bars on exposed 

 surfaces ; upper and under tail-coverts usually and more or less distinctly barred 

 with dusky ; sides of head whitish before, plain brown or punctate behind ; a wdiite 

 superciliary line; underparts white, tinged with ochraceous buff across breast, 

 and with pale brown or Isabella color on sides, flanks, and crissum ; bill and feet 

 as usual. Length 4.50-5.75 ( 1 14.3-146) ; av. of ten males: wing 2.12 (54) ; tail 

 1.82 (46.4) : bill .56 ( 14.2) ; tarsus .79 (20.1 ). 



Recognition Marks. — Warbler size; brown and black pattern of back with 

 white stripes distinctive; white superciliary stripe and long bill distinctive in 

 haunts. Strictly confined to bulrushes and long grass of marshes. Lighter and 

 larger than T. />. l^alndicola. 



Nesting. — Nest: a ball of reeds and grasses, chinked and lined with cat-tail 

 down, with entrance in side, and suspended in growing cat-tails, bulrushes or 

 bushes. Eggs: 5-7, so heavily speckled with olive brown or sepia as to appear 

 almost uniform brown. Av. size, .65 x .52 (16.5x13.2). Season: May, July; 

 two broods. 



General Range. — Western LTnited States and southern British Columbia 

 between the Ivocky Mountains aud the Cascade-Sierra Range, breeding from New 

 Mexico northward; south during migrations to Cape district of Lower California 

 and Western Mexico. 



Range in Washington. — Summer resident in all suitable localities east of 

 the Cascades. 



Authorities. — Telmatodytes palustris paludicola Brewster, B. N. O. C. 

 \I1 1882, 227 (Ft. ^^'alla Walla). D^ Ss'. J. 



Specimens. — C. P. 



"TO the Coots and Rails belong the ooze-infesting morsels of the swamp, 

 but all the little crawling things which ventttre into the upper story of the wav- 

 ing cat-tail forest, belong to the Long-billed Marsh Wren. Somewhat less 

 cautious than the waterfowl, he is the presiding genius of flowing acres, which 

 often have no other interest for the ornithologist. There are only two occa- 

 sions when the Marsh W^ren voluntarily lea\"es the shelter of the cat-tails or of 

 the closely related marshables. One of these is when he is (lri\en South by the 

 migrating instinct. Then he may be seen skulking about the borders of the 

 streams, sheltering in the weeds or clambering about the drift. The other 



