BIRDS OF KANSAS. (J19 



forest and meadow, through marshes and swamps, knows where 

 to find it. I observed tliis Wren during the entire year in 

 marshy places near the Gulf coast of Texas, and Mr. Maynard 

 found it all along the eastern side of Indian River, Fla., espe- 

 cially in savannas covered with short grass, which grows so 

 thickly that it becomes matted together. 



"The nest is always placed in a tussock of reeds or coarse 

 grass, the tops of which are ' ingeniously interwoven into a coarse 

 and strong covering, spherical in shape and closed on every 

 side, except one small aperture left for ^n entrance. The strong, 

 wiry grass of the tussock is also interwoven with finer materials, 

 making the whole impervious to the weather.' This globe-like 

 structure is lined with finer grasses, and sometimes with soft 

 vegetable down, but no mud is used in the construction. Occa- 

 sionally we may find the nest in a grassy meadow, where it is 

 usually placed low down in a tussock of grass instead of hang- 

 ing in the tops of swaying sedges. The eggs are entirely dif- 

 ferent from those of the Long-billed species, being pure white, 

 unmarked. They number from six to eight; measure about .64 

 X.50 inch." 



SuBCxENUS TELMATODYTES Cabanis. 

 Bill as long as head, the culmeu equal to or longer than the middle toe with- 

 out claw; hind claw longer than the toe; lower parts pure white medially. Eggs 

 pale chocolate brown or deeper chocolate, sometimes nearly uniform, but usually 

 finely sprinkled with a deeper shade of the ground color (the latter sometimes 

 light Isabella color). {Ridgicay.) 



Cistithorus palustris (Wils.). 



LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN. 

 PLATE XXXIV. 



Summer resident; not common. Arrive the last of April to 

 first of May; begin laying the last of May; leave in October. 



B. 268. R. 67, 67a. C. 79, SO. G. 28, 316. U. 725. 



Habitat. Temperate eastern North America; accidental in 

 Greenland; west to the Rocky Mountains (replaced westward 

 hy C. palustris paludicola),' breeds throughout its range; win- 

 ters in the Gulf States, and probably south into eastern Mexico. 



Sp. Char. " Bill about as long as head. Tail and wing nearly ecjual. Up- 

 per parts of a dull, reddish brown, except on the crown, interscapular region, 



