194 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



among the reeds, above the reach of the highest tides, and is tied 

 so fast to every part of the surrounding reeds as to bid defiance to 

 the winds and the waves. The eggs are usually six, of a dark-ftiwn 

 color, and very small. The young leave the nest about the 20th of 

 June, and they generally have a second brood in the same season." 



I am unable to add any thing of value to this description. 

 Several nests in my collection, from various localities in 

 New England and elsewhere, agree with the above descrip- 

 tion of nest. They are formed of reeds and grasses twined 

 strongly together in a bulky fabric ; and the entrance, a 

 small round hole, is on one side (facing the south always, 

 I believe). The cavity is deep, and lined with soft grasses 

 and feathers. The eggs are of a mahogany-color, with fine 

 dots covering the entire surface. These dots are darker than 

 the ground-color, and so fine as to be hardly visible. A great 

 number of eggs in my collection vary from .60 by .48 to .56 

 by .42 inch in dimensions. 



CISTOTHORUS STELLARIS. — Cn^ams. 

 The Short-billed Marsh Wren. 



Cistothorus stellaris, Cabanis. Mus. Hein. (1S51), 77. Type. 



Troglodytes brevirostris, Nuttall. Trans. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sc, New Ser., I. 

 (1833) 98, with figure (quoted in Manual, though date of volume is subsequent to 

 1832). lb., Man., I. (1832) 436. Aud. Cm. Biog., IL (1834) 427; V. (1839) 469. 



Description. 



Bill very short, scarcely half the length of the head ; wing and tail about equal ; 

 hinder part of the crown and the scapular and interscapular region of the back and 

 rump almost black, streaked with white ; tail dusky, the feathers barred throughout 

 with brown (the color grayish on the under surface) ; beneath white ; the sides, upper 

 part of the breast, and under tail coverts reddish-brown ; upper parts, with the excep- 

 tions mentioned, reddish-brown. 



Length, four and fifty one-hundredths inches; wing, one and sevent}''-five one- 

 hundredths inch ; tail, one and seventy-five one-hundredths inch. 



Hab. — Eastern United States to the Loup fork of Platte. 



Like the preceding species, this bird is limited to the 

 southern districts of New England ; Massachusetts being its 

 northern limit. It makes its first appearance about the 

 middle of May, sometimes a little earlier. The nest is built 



