PRAIRIE MARSH WREN 257 



rattling and harsh, but always vigorous. It ends abruptly but is 

 generally followed by a short musical whistle or trill, as if the Wren 

 were drawing in its breath after its efforts. I have heard one sing 

 fifteen times in a minute." 



Dr. Welter's (1935) description is only slightly different; he dis- 

 sects the song into three parts; first a grinding sound consisting of 

 two to five notes with somewhat the quality of the aao notes of the 

 white-breated nuthatch; then comes the more musical "warble-like" 

 part, which reminds him "of a sewing machine of the older sort 

 being run rapidly, but of course it is less metallic and more musical. 

 It has much of the spontaneity of the House Wren's song but is other- 

 wise quite distinct. This middle section begins at a low pitch, climbs 

 upward, and then descends again." The third section he calls a trill, 

 which is again "quite low but lacks the harshness of the beginning of 

 the song. * * * 



"This entire song is given during May and most of June. Toward 

 the end of the month, however, the last part is often omitted and often 

 neither the beginning nor the end is heard." The song period seems 

 to cease entirely in August, but the full song has been heard in Octo- 

 ber, which may mean that a second song period occurs in fall. 



The marsh wren is a persistent singer, chiefly during the early 

 morning and the evening hours, but during the height of the season 

 it sings all day and often at night. Only the male sings. He sings 

 while clinging to the reeds or while moving among them ; he indulges 

 in his most delightful flight song while flying above the vegetation 

 from one part of his territory to the other; or, rising in the air to a 

 height of several feet, he flutters down to cover again in full song. 



This wren also has several alarm, call, or chattering notes. Ac- 

 cording to Dr. Welter (1935) — 



the fct'fc fce/b or tschuk is given by the female. The male's note sometimes resem- 

 bles this also but can usually be distinguished by its more grating nature and 

 may be described as rrek. A series of notes is usually given togetlier so the 

 rrek's do not sound very distinct as they roll into each other producing a chatter- 

 ing. The kek notes, however, while also given together, maintain their identity. 

 The female has a hissing sound that she gives if too closely pressed by the male. 

 Preceding copulation the female has been heard to give a trill like that at the 

 end of the male's song. 



The call notes of the young are quite similar to those of the adult. The nestling, 

 when the female arrives with food, gives a beady peep or peet. At lirst these 

 notes are scarcely audible but as the young become older and stronger the peet is 

 clearly heard. As the young leave the nest the peet gradually develops into a 

 qxieck. It is much more squeaky than the adult kek and also lacks the woody 

 quality. The notes of the juvenal become more and more like those of the adult 

 until they are indistinguishable. 



He says that the songs of the young males begin late in August and 

 are entirely different from those of the adult. They reminded him 

 at first of "the efforts of a not altogether successful Catbird," but they 



