676 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



early in March and continues to be fairly alnmdant in the southern part 

 of the state until late in April, at which time it gives snatches of its summer 

 song, but seldom the complete strain. In the fall it returns to southern 

 Michigan in September, but ordinarily not until the middle or last of the 

 month, though occasionally one is seen during the first week. Individuals 

 linger until the last of November regularly, but the greater numljer move 

 southward l^eyond our limits during October and November. The light- 

 liouse records show no fatalities for this species during the spring, but on 

 Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, si^ecimens were killed September 21, 23 

 and 25, 1889, and October 6, 1890. 



During migration the bird frequents timber of almost any kind, but 

 seems to prefer wind-falls, brush heaps, and the darker and more tangled 

 recesses of the swamps and woods. It makes its summer home almost 

 invariably among evergreens, and is an abundant nester only among the 

 forests of pine, spruce, balsam and hemlock in the northern half of the 

 Lower Peninsula and in the Upper Peninsula. Nevertheless, wherever 

 groves of these trees are found the bird may be looked for in summer, and 

 there is little doubt that it will be found nesting in favorable localities 

 in all but the southernmost counties of the state. It is rarely seen far 

 from the ground and is most often found creeping about brush heaps, 

 old logs and dense thickets of evergreens, particularly in shady ravines 

 where springs or brooks furnish abundant moisture. In such situations 

 its voice may be heard constantly during the nesting season, and it is 

 not likely to be mistaken for that of any other bird. 



Opinions differ widely as to the quality of the song; all agree that it is a 

 very striking performance, but while many call it musical, others think 

 it entirely devoid of any such quality. It consists of a series of perhaps 

 a dozen notes, all uttered in a very high key, but a few of the notes nearly 

 an octave higher than the rest. Different observers speak of it as weird, 

 uncanny, unmusical, squeaky and shrill, but there is much individual 

 variation, and the writer has frequently heard Winter Wrens singing 

 when the notes were entirely devoid of any unpleasant tones, and some- 

 times even decidedly musical. Ruthven and Gaige made the following 

 notes on this species in Dickinson county in the summer of 1909: "It was 

 heard almost daily during July and the first week in August, but after August 

 6 it rapidly decreased in abundance and was not recorded after the 12th. 

 It frequented the denser thickets along the river, the depths of the tamarack 

 and spruce 'swamps, and the lower, thicker, hardwood forest. It was 

 commoner in the two former habitats than anywhere else. Were it not 

 for the loud clear song the species could be very easily overlooked on account 

 of its exceedingly shyness, its small size and the nature of its retreats. 

 As it is the song may be heard at quite a distance and is inexpressibly 

 beautiful when heard in the woods. The birds seem to sing very frequently. 

 No breeding record was obtained for the species." (Manuscript Report.) 



When singing the bird most often perches on some dead twig or root close 

 to the ground, and we have never seen it singing from the top of a bush 

 or from a height of more than four or five feet above the surface. Fre- 

 quently it sings from the hidden depths of a brush heap or the thick tangle 

 of a mass of fallen trees where the performer is entirely invisible. It 

 flits, jumps and glides about in such situations with the utmost celerity 

 and skill, reminding one constantly of a mouse and being almost as difficult 

 to keep in sight. Peet's observations of the bird on Isle Royale in the 

 summer of 1905 are widely at variance with those of most writers. He 



