136 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Errington ( 1935 ) reports finding the remains of house wrens in the 

 stomach contents of red and gray foxes ; hence individuals inhabiting 

 places remote from the houses of man are also subject to prey by pred- 

 atory mammals. Wrens are also preyed upon by predatory birds 

 such as owls; Fisher (1893) reports finding the remains of a house 

 wren in the stomach contents of a screech owl, and Errington (Er- 

 rington et al., 1941) found three wrens in the pelletal remains of the 

 horned owl. 



While the house wren is notorious for its aggressions toward other 

 birds, sometimes the tables are turned and it is driven away by huskier 

 intruders. Henderson (1931) reports that Carolina wrens nest in 

 boxes at his home, located near a heavy forest at Greensburg, Ind. 

 Although house wrens attempt nest-building on his premises, they have 

 been completely driven out by the Carolina wrens. The same can be 

 said for Bewick's wren in the southwestern section of the range of the 

 house wren, although in some localities the situation is reversed. In 

 the past the English sparrow has offered the severest competition. 

 Indeed, the scarcity of the house wren in certain sections of its range, 

 especially in New England, has been attributed to this persistent and 

 audacious marauder. Knight (1908) states that the house wren was a 

 common bird near Bangor, but at the advent of the English sparrow 

 the species began to diminish about 1885 and none have occurred there 

 since 1887. Similar conditions prevailed in Massachusetts. In recent 

 years since the marked decrease in English sparrows the house wren is 

 coming back and is now nesting in sections where for years it was 

 virtually extirpated. 



Other birds have had their innings with the house wren, and even 

 the midget of a hummingbird may spend its wrath on it when occa- 

 sion arises. Hervey Brackbill (MS.) submits the following interest- 

 ing experience : "One late August day I came upon a wren under attack 

 by a ruby-throated hummingbird. Scolding, the wren was hopping 

 and flitting from one place to another close in to the two main stems 

 of a small locust tree while the hummer — apparently unable to follow 

 it through the twigs directly — darted in at it from the outer edge of 

 the tree, then shot back out again to strike in through some other open- 

 ing at the wren in its new position. The hummer made half a dozen 

 thrusts within the next few minutes ; then the wren apparently found 

 a safe spot. The hummer perched for a while, in near the heart of 

 the tree, then flew off." 



Snakes are not a common enemy of the house wren, but the following 

 experience of Hunter (1935) is interesting : "Last spring on one of my 

 nature rambles at West Point, 111., my attention was drawn to the nest 

 of a pair of House Wrens * * * by the alarm notes of the owners. 

 Upon making an investigation I found it necessary to remove a Garter 

 Snake * * * from the nest, while the process of digesting five 

 young wrens continued uninterrupted." 



