198 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



Description. 



Bill very straight, slender, and conical ; shorter than the head ; tail considerably 

 shorter than the wings, which reach to its middle; upper parts reddish-brown, 

 becoming brighter to the rump and tail; everywhere, except on the head and upper 

 part of the back, with transverse bars of dusky and of lighter; scapulars and wing 

 coverts with spots of white; beneath pale reddish-brown, barred on the posterior 

 half of the body with dusky and whitish, and spotted with white more anteriorly; 

 outer web of primaries similarly spotted with pale brownish-white; an indistinct 

 pale line over the eye. 



Length, about four inches; wmg, one and sixty-six one-hundredths inch; tail, 

 one and twenty-six one-hundredths inch. 



Hab. — North America generally. 



This bird is quite abundant in the three northern New- 

 England States, and, as a winter visitor, is not uncommon 

 in the others. Wilson gives the following account of its 

 habits : — 



" This little stranger visits us from the north *n the month of 

 October, sometimes remaining with us all the winker, and is always 

 observed, early in spring, on his route back to his breeding-place. 

 In size, color, song, and manners, he approaches nearer to the 

 European Wren {M. troglodytes) than any other species we have. 

 During his residence here, he frequents the projecting banks of 

 creeks, old roots, decayed logs, small bushes, and rushes, near 

 watery places : he even approaches the farm-house, rambles about 

 the wood-pile, creeping among the interstices like a mouse. With 

 tail erect, which is his constant habit, mounted on some projecting 

 point or pinnacle, he sings with great animation. Even in the 

 yards, gardens, and outhouses of the city, he appears familiar, and 

 quite at home. In short, he possesses almost all the habits of the 

 European species. He is, however, migratory, which may be 

 owing to the superior coldness of our continent. Never having 

 met with the nest and eggs, I am unable to say how nearly they 

 approximate to those of the former." 



I know nothing of the breeding habits, nest, or eggs of 

 this species. It has, while in its summer home, one of the 

 most beautiful warbling songs that I ever heard. 



