THE WESTERN WINTER WREN. 



313 





absurdh' as being the clicking of tlie ratchet in a nmsic-box being WDuncl up 

 fill" action. 



Heard at close quarters the bird will occasionally eniplo)' a ventrilo(|uial 

 trick, dropping suddenly to sutto voce, so that the sung appears to come from 

 a distance. Again, it will 

 move crescendo and di- 

 minuendo, as tho the 

 supply pipe of this mu- 

 sical cascade were sub- 

 mitted to varying pres- 

 sure at the fountain 

 head. 



A singing bird is the 

 best evidence available 

 of the proximity of the 

 nest. Usuallv the male 

 bird posts himself near 

 the sitting female and 

 publishes his domestic 

 happiness in musical 

 numl;)ers. But again, he 

 may only be i)ausing 

 to congratulate himself 

 upon the successful com- 

 pletion of another decoy, 

 and the case is hopeless 

 for the nonce. 



For nesting sites the 

 Wrens avail themselves 

 of cubby-holes and cran- 

 nies in upturned roots or 

 fallen logs, and fire-holes 

 in half -burned stumps. 

 A favorite situation is 

 one of the crevices 

 which occur in a large 

 fir tree when it falls and splits open. 



Taken in Seattle. Photo by the Axtthor. 



NEST OF WESTERN V\1NTER WREN IN CH.\RRED STUMP. 



NOTE TH.AT A SPIDES WEB .ABOVE CLOSELY SIMULATES THE NEST- 

 ENTRANCE, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT MIDWAY. 



Or the nest is sometimes found under 



the bark of a decaying log, or in a crevice of earth in an unused mine-shaft. 

 If the site selected has a wide entrance, this is walled up by the nesting ma- 

 terial and onl}- a smooth round aperture an inch and a quarter in diameter is 

 left to admit to the nest proper. In default of any such shelter, birds have 

 been known to construct their nests at the center of some babv fir, or in the 



