270 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Dr. Dwight's (1900) description of what is probably an older bird 

 differs but slightly : "Above, dull black on the pileum and back, the 

 nape, sepia, the rump and upper tail coverts russet ; streaked anteriorly 

 with white, barred on the rump and wings with black, white and cin- 

 namon, palest on the primaries; the tail drab, mottled rather than 

 barred with black. Below, including sides of the head, ochraceous 

 buff palest on the chin and throat and washed strongly on the sides, 

 flanks and crissum with cinnamon, the feathers whitish centrally and 

 terminally." 



He says that the first winter plumage is "acquired by a partial post- 

 juvenal molt beginning about the middle of August which involves 

 the body plumage and wing coverts, probably the tertiaries, but not 

 the rest of the wings nor the tail." This plumage he describes as 

 "similar to the previous plumage, the forehead largely sepia-brown 

 and conspicuous white stripes on the crown. Below, the ochraceous 

 wash is deeper including a pectoral band and a few black and white 

 bars occur on the flanks. The tertiaries are distinctly black, edged 

 and barred with white, russet bordered." 



This plumage is practically indistinguishable from the winter plum- 

 age of the adult. The prenuptial molt of both adults and young is 

 nearly or quite complete. Dr. Dwight says that this is proved by 

 birds taken in Texas on April 15. "Limited material indicates that 

 only a few of the outer primaries are renewed in some cases." Dr. 

 Stone (1896) says: "There is a complete spring molt of the body 

 feathers in this bird as shown in a series taken at Tarpon Springs, 

 Fla., April 15th." Dr. Sutton (1940) took one of these wrens in 

 southern San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on April 18, that was "in the midst 

 of a molt involving head- and body-plumage." And he saw another, 

 taken March 22, in Tamaulipas, Mexico, in which the rectrices were 

 molting. Both year-old birds and adults have a complete postnuptial 

 molt mainly in August. The fresh autumn plumage is more richly 

 colored than the spring plumage and sometimes shows a few dusky 

 bars on the flanks. The sexes are alike in all plumages. 



Food. — No very extensive study of the food of the short-billed marsh 

 wren seems to have been made. Dr. Walkinshaw (1935) says that the 

 food consists of insects. "They have been observed to feed the young, 

 with moths, spiders, mosquitoes, flies, grasshoppers, and bugs." Ar- 

 thur H. Howell (1932) says: "Examination of 34 stomachs of this 

 Wren from Florida showed its food to consist wholly of insects and 

 spiders. The insects taken included ants, bugs, weevils, ladybird 

 beetles, moths, caterpillars, locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers." 



Behavior. — This tiny wren, one of the smallest of the family, is also 

 one of the shiest, most retiring, and elusive. As we pass some likely 

 meadow we may recognize its characteristic, chattering little song and 

 perhaps see the male perched on some small bush in or near a marsh, or 



