EASTERN WINTER WREN 151 



over the stone on which the moss grew." Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway 

 (1874) mention a nest, found by William F. Hall in Maine, that was 

 "built in an unoccupied log-hut, among the fir-leaves and mosses in 

 a crevice between the logs. It was large and bulky, composed ex- 

 ternally of mosses and lined with the fur of hedge-hogs, and the 

 feathers of the spruce partridge and other birds. It was in the shape 

 of a pouch, and the entrance was neatly framed with fine pine sticks." 



The nests are all much alike in construction ; there is usually a base 

 of fine twigs and coarse mosses, on which a bulky nest of various green 

 and yellow mosses is built, reinforced with a few fine twigs of spruce 

 or fir ; the interior is well lined with the soft feathers of various birds 

 and the fur of any mammal that is available. Knight (1908) gives 

 the measurements of a nest before him as "outside from top to bottom 

 7 inches; depth of cavity inside 2 inches; diameter of entrance hole 

 1 inch ; diameter of interior of nest IVi inches ; from bottom of entrance 

 hole to bottom of nest outside 4 inches; diameter of nest outside 4 

 inches." This was evidently a long and narrow nest; the size and 

 shape of the nest varies considerably as it must be adapted to the 

 cavity it has to fill ; but it is always a large nest for so small a bird ; 

 and always the entrance on the side is only just large enough to admit 

 the little owner. Like some other wrens, the winter wren builds false 

 nests, decoy nests, or extra nests, supposed to be built by the male; 

 these are usually not lined. 



Eggs. — Four to seven eggs may constitute the set for the winter 

 wren, but five or six are commoner. They are usually ovate in shape, 

 less rounded than those of the chickadees, which they otherwise some- 

 what resemble. They are clear white, with small spots and fine dots 

 of pale reddish brown, "cinnamon" to "hazel," which are distributed 

 more thickly, as a rule, near the larger end. Some eggs are very spar- 

 ingly marked with the finest of dots, or are nearly immaculate. The 

 measurements of 40 eggs average 16.7 by 12.5 millimeters; the eggs 

 showing the four extremes measures 17.8 by 12.7, 16-7 by 13.0, 15.2 by 

 12.7, and 15.7 by 11.9 millimeters. 



Toimg.- — The period of incubation for the winter wren does not seem 

 to have been definitely determined, though it is probably the same as 

 for the English bird, 14 to 16 days. Whether both sexes share this 

 duty seems to be unknown also, but this is not surprising as it is so 

 difficult to distinguish the sexes in life. Early and late breeding dates 

 suggest that sometimes two broods are reared in a season. 



William Brewster ( 1938 ) writes : "A brood of young scarce able 

 to fly came about the camp this forenoon [Aug. 31] . They kept calling 

 to one another as they dodged in and out among the fallen logs uttering 

 a fine, wiry tree-e-e something like that of the small spotted thrushes. 

 When I disturbed and scattered them they chirruped at me in soft 

 tones. This chirrup is unlike any other bird call that I can remember. 



