ALASKA WREN 165 



that its nesting habits were fully described by a competent natural- 

 ist. Earlier accounts were based on reports by the natives or on nests 

 and eggs collected by them. The earliest account came from Dr. 

 Elliott Coues (1875) ; he quotes from the manuscript notes of Henry 

 W. Elliott, who spent parts of 3 years on St. George Island, as fol- 

 lows : "Its nest is built in small, deep holes and crevices in the cliffs. 

 I have not myself seen it, but the natives say that it lays from 8 to 

 10 eggs, in a nest made of soft, dry grass and feathers, roofed over, 

 with an entrance at the side to the nest-chamber, thus being of elab- 

 orate construction." 



The attempts of various naturalists, who visited the island dur- 

 ing subsequent years, to find the nest of this elusive bird were not 

 successful until 1918, when Dr. Heath (1920) made a special effort 

 to solve the problem and succeeded in finding over 16 nests. He has 

 given us the following full account of the nesting haunts of the 

 Alaskan wren, the difficulties to be encountered in hunting for the 

 nests, and a description of the nests : 



Throughout the summer at least, these diminutive creatures confine their 

 activities to the perpendicular cliffs and the adjacent boulder-strewn beach 

 where they prove to be more than usually inconspicuous, for several reasons. 

 In the first place their brownish coats harmonize almost perfectly with the 

 weathered basaltic rock and the encrusting lichens, and this, together with 

 their habit of slipping along the face of the clifE by very short flights, or mov- 

 ing mouse-like through the grass, or entering crevices of the cliff or beneath 

 the beach boulders to appear again several feet distant, renders it most difficult 

 to follow their movements for many minutes together. Also, during the month 

 of May and the first half of June — the length of my sojourn on St. George Island — 

 the weather was anything but ideal. Rain, dense fogs, or at least heavily 

 overcast skies, with piercing winds and a temperature of not over 50 degrees, 

 placed a heavy tax on one's powers of endurance and eyesight. Furthermore, 

 the almost incessant incoming and outgoing stream of least, crested and paroquet 

 auklets interpersed with kittiwakes, puffins and murres, and the movements 

 of these species on the cliffs, produce a bewildering effect which tends to blot 

 out minor details. * * * 



At the outset be it known that the male is almost utterly useless when 

 depended upon to disclose the presence of the nest, until after the young are 

 hatched. In carefree fashion he explores the cracks and crannies of the cliffs 

 for half-frozen bugs and flies, or repairs to a commanding position at the upper 

 margin of the cliff, where he delivers himself of his unoiled song; or tiring of 

 this he flies a quarter of a mile or so along the coast to sneak back a few 

 minutes later to the same old stand. In three instances only, have I seen the 

 male fly to the neighborhood of the female or the nest during the building or 

 incubation period, and his stay in every case was of brief duration. 



During this time the female may or may not be in evidence, and if discovered 

 her activities are usually found to be essentially the same as her mate. If so — 

 and an hour's watching will generally settle the matter — it is economy of effort 

 to postpone the search for the nest until the morrow. 



However, if the female is in tlie midst of house building, no better time can 

 be found to locate her nest for, in spite of intruders, even at a distance of a 



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