WESTERN WINTER WREN 173 



Thomas D. Burleigh (1930) records four nests, found in north- 

 western Washington, in four different situations; one was "2 feet 

 from the ground in the upturned roots of a large fir at the side of 

 a stream in a wooded ravine." Another was "2 feet from the gi-ound 

 in a crevice at the end of an old rotten log on a hillside in a ravine" ; 

 a third "was 31/2 feet from the ground in a hole in an old rotten 

 stump in a stretch of thick woods." The fourth nest seems most 

 unusual "for it was 5 feet from the ground well concealed in a 

 mass of dead leaves lodged in a clump of shoots growing from the 

 trunlv of a large alder in a short stretch of open woods." 



There is a nest in the Thayer collection in Cambridge that was 

 apparently similarly located ; it was taken by F. J. Smith, of Eureka, 

 Calif., "in woods near town, fastened to sprouts against the side of 

 an alder tree, partly concealed by tall sword ferns." 



The western winter wren is one of the species that accepted J. H. 

 Bowles's invitation to nest in artificially prepared nesting sites; he 

 had a pair adopt a "very old and badly broken down Creeper 'decoy' " ; 

 he tried tin cans and other devices unsuccessfully, and then says 

 (1922) : "Finally I removed a section of bark from a small dead fir 

 stub, dug out a space about six inches in diameter, then replaced 

 the bark and made an entrance hole about an inch and a half in diam- 

 eter close to the top of the cavity." A pair of wrens took possession, 

 a few weeks later built a beautiful nest, and laid a set of five eggs in 

 it. 



Like some other wrens, notably the long-billed marsh wren, the 

 western winter wren builds extra nests, false or decoy nests, perhaps 

 through super-abundant energy on the part of the male, or with the 

 idea of appropriating all available nesting sites for possible future 

 use. Mr. Bowles (1899) says: "The number of 'decoys' built by 

 one pair of these birds varies from one to at least four, and on one 

 occasion I found eight of these false nests that were strung along 

 the edge of a stream bordered by dense growth of all sizes. These 

 were all in a space about 150 yards long and almost in a straight 

 line." He does not claim that all of these nests were made by one 

 pair of birds, but only one appeared during his search. "The 'decoys' 

 are never so well constructed as the regular nests, but a few weeks ago 

 I was surprised to find that a pair had made over and lined one of 

 last season and laid one egg.^^ 



Eggs. — The eggs are indistinguishable from those of the eastern 

 winter wren. The measurements of 40 eggs average 16.4 by 12.4 milli- 

 meters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 18.1 by 12.7, 17.2 

 by 13.0, and 14.0 by 12.0 millimeters. 



Young. — Mrs. Wlieelock (1904) says that the young "are fed by 

 regurgitation for several days after hatching, the menu being chiefly 



