302 



THE WESTERN MARSH WREN. 



time is in the spring, when tiie male shoots up into the air a few feet above tlie 

 reeds, like a ball from a Roman candle, and sputters all the way, only to drop 

 back, extinguished, into the reeds again. This is a part of the tactics of his 

 courting season, when, if e\-er, a body may be allowed a little libert_\-. For the 

 rest, he clings sidewise to the cat-tail stems or sprawls in midair, reaching, 

 rather than flying from one stem to another. His tail is cocked up and his 

 head thrown back, so that, on those few occasions when he is seen, he does not 

 get credit for Ijeing as large as he really is" (The Birds of Ohio ). 



Since his sphere of activity is so limited, we may proceed at once to the 



main interest, that of nest-build- 

 ing. And this is precisely as the 

 Marsh Wren would have it, else 

 wh}- does he spend the livelong 

 day making extra nests, which are 

 of no possible use to anyone, save 

 as examples of Telmatodytine 

 architecture? It is possible that 

 I lie female is coquettish, and re- 

 i|uires tliese many mansions as 

 rxidence that the ardent swain 

 will be able to support her becom- 

 ingly after marriage. Or, it may 

 l>e, that the suitor delights to af- 

 ford his lady love a wide range 

 I if ch(iice in the matter of homes, 

 and seeks thus to drive her to the 

 ine\'itable conclusion that there is 

 only one home-maker for her. 

 Howe\'er this may be. it is certain 

 that one sometimes finds a con- 

 siderable group of nest-balls, each 

 of apparent suitability, I:)ef(^re any 

 are occupied. 



On the other hand, the male continues his harmless acti\-ities long after 

 his mate has selected one of his early efforts and dejiosited her eggs: so that 

 the oologist may have to sample a dozen "cock's nests," or decoys, before the 

 right one is found. Some em])tv nests mav be perfectly finished, but others 

 are apt to lack the soft lining: while still others, not having recei\-ed the 

 close-pressed interstitial filling, will l)e sodden from the last rains. 



The Marsh Wren's nest is a compact ball of \-egetable materials, lashed 

 mi(lwa\- of cat-tails or bulrushes, li\-ing or dead, anil h;i\ing a neat entrance 

 hole in one side. A consideralile \ariet\- of materials is used in construction, but 



NEST OF WESTERN M.\KSII WREN, IN SITU. 



