APACHE WREN 147 



but duller and more grayish (less buffy) particularly on the under 

 parts." He gives as its range ''the Huachuca and Santa Rita mountains 

 of Arizona and southward for an undetermined distance." 



Dr. Brandt (1945) gives the following interesting account of its 

 discovery and its nesting habits : 



At an elevation of some 7,200 feet, in one of tlie main defiles of Major John 

 Healy's Carr Canyon Ranch, in the Huachuca Mountains, on June 6, 1945, I 

 detected a feathered flash leaving the opposite side of a large ash when I 

 "squeaked" and scraped its rough bark. This tree was growing at the stream-bed, 

 so I climbed the adjacent abrupt slope, to a level of the upper half of the tree. 



Before long the bird appeared and nervously entered a natural cavity, which 

 proved to be its nest, but quickly departed. The next time it returned, I was able 

 to obtain a good view of it with 8-power glasses, and, although it had the general 

 behavior and appearance of a House Wren, yet there was a decided buff stripe 

 above the eye. 



His familiarity with the song of the eastern house wren enabled him 

 to recognize a difference in the song of this bird, and so they decided 

 to investigate further. As the nest was 16 feet from the ground in the 

 main trunk of a solid tree, it was necessary to postpone further work 

 on it until the next day with the proper equipment. 



The next morning, June 7, Nelson Carpenter, with boldness and extreme diflj- 

 culty, chopped through the 10-inch living trunk to the nest, and removed five 

 incubated eggs, which appeared about a third smaller and more sparingly marked 

 than those of the House Wren. Jleanwhile, Lyndon Hargrave skillfully collected 

 both shy parents, and we realized that we had an avian find. Doctor Oberholser 

 at once pronounced the birds Gaboon's Wrens (Troglodytes irunneicolUs 

 cahooni), a most remarkable memory feat, as he had not studied this Mexican 

 species in nearly 40 yeai's. 



A second nest of this bird I discovered on June 8, several miles away in 

 another canyon of the range, also at an elevation of 7,200 feet. Its presence was 

 suspected as the result of a male's singing, and later a bird was seen entering a 

 natural cavity in a tall, upright branch of an ash, 35 feet up, which proved to be 

 in a position too unsafe to climb. * * * 



All nests discovered were situated at an elevation of between 7,000 and 7,300 

 feet, in well-wooded canyon bottoms of the Transition Life Zone, and were in a 

 region where the Western House Wren was absent, although higher up the latter 

 is not uncommon. Below 6,000 feet, Baird's Wren (Thryomanes betcickii 

 eremophilus) is often encountered. 



Since the above was published. Dr. Brandt has sent me a reproduc- 

 tion of a photograph, showing the nest and jfive eggs, and specimens of 

 a pair of adults and four young of different ages of the Apache wren. 

 On the back of this is printed the following description of the nest : 

 "The nest was in a small cavity of an ash tree and was a cozy cradle 

 of colorful bird feathers, placed on a bed of pine needles. The eggs 

 are more like the warbler tribe than those of the House Wren, and are 

 smaller than the latter." 



