<310 HISTORY OB' THE 



Subgenus THRYOMANES Sclater. 



Tail feathers (exceptiug middle pair) chiefly plaiu blackish, the outer feath- 

 ers spotted and barred at tip with light grajish and dull whitish; middle pair 

 of tail feathers grayish brown or brownish gray, barred or transversely spotted 

 with black or dusky. {Ridgway.) 



Thryothorus bewickii (Aud.). 



BEWICK'S WREN. 



Summer resident; very rare. Arrive about the first of April; 

 begin laying early in May; leave about the last of October. 



B. 267. R. 61. C. 71. G. 24, 311. U. 719. 



Habitat. Eastern United States; north to New Jersey and 



Minnesota; west to the edge of the Great Plains and eastern 



Texas; breeding throughout its range; winters in the Southern 



States. 



Sp. Char. "Above, dark rufous brown; rump and middle tail feathers some- 

 times a little paler, and very slightly tinged with gray, and (together with the ex- 

 posed surface of secondaries) distinctly barred with dusky. Beneath, soiled 

 plumbeous whitish; flanks brown; crissum banded; ground color of quills aud 

 tail feathers brownish black." 



stretch of 



Iris brown; bill black, with under pale bluish at base; legs, 

 feet and claws dark brown. 



These familiar birds are of rare occurrence in their extreme 

 western range, but very common east of the Mississippi River 

 to the AUeghanies; rare and local eastward. They frequent the 

 thickets and clumps of bushes on the prairies, fields and hill- 

 sides, but in the settled portions of the country prefer for their 

 homes the shrubbery about the dwelling houses and outbuild- 

 ings. Mr. Ridgway, in "Birds of Illinois," happily says: 



"No bird more deserves the protection of man than Bewick's 

 Wren. He does not need man's encouragement, for he comes 

 of his own accord and installs himself as a member of the com- 

 munity wherever it suits his taste. He is found about the cow 

 shed and barn along with the Pewee and Barn Swallow; he in- 

 vestigates the pig sty, then explores the garden fence, and finally 

 mounts to the roof and pours forth one of the sweetest songs 



