CAROLINA WREN 207 



Most of the sites mentioned above are obviously at very low eleva- 

 tions, seldom as much as 10 feet above ground, even in trees. But 

 M. G. Vaiden, of Rosedale, Miss., writes to me of a nest that was "30 

 feet up in a black walnut. This nest was extremely large and located 

 on a partially broken-off limb growing upward and almost parallel 

 to the main body of the tree. A few sprouts had grown out from the 

 broken limb," which helped to prevent the nest from being blown 

 away. "The nest was composed of dried leaves and sticks and lined 

 with fowl feathers, forming a great ball with the entrance facing 

 north and at the very center of the ball." Nests in such open situa- 

 tions in trees are usually domed or arched over, with a side entrance. 



Nests of the more domestically inclined wrens have been reported 

 in a great variety of nooks and crannies in, about, or under buildings 

 of various kinds, under bridges, or in holes in fence posts. Almost 

 any kind of receptacles left lying around, such as tin cans, coffee pots, 

 pails, small baskets, pitchers, or empty boxes may be used. Old dis- 

 carded hats and caps or the pockets of old clothes, coats, or overalls, 

 left hanging in sheds or on porches, may offer acceptable nesting 

 sites. Nests have been found in mail boxes, bird boxes, old hornets' 

 nests, and ivy vines growing over porches ; and the nest is sometimes 

 built in an unused cupboard or on a mantel shelf inside a house. 

 Dr. Witmer Stone (1911) writes: "In a country place near Philadel- 

 phia, a pair of Carolina Wrens entered the sitting-room through a 

 window that was left partly open, and built their nest in the back of an 

 upholstered sofa, entering where a hole had been torn in the back. 

 Needless to say, they were not disturbed, and given full possession until 

 the young were safely reared." Mr. Vaiden tells of a pair of these 

 wrens that raised a brood of young "in the pitcher of a pitcher-pump," 

 left in the basement of a house. "The parents came through the partl}^ 

 opened basement window and gave little attention to the humans that 

 had to occasionally go into the basement." 



Dr. George M. Sutton (1930) says that, in Brooke County, W. Va., 

 "the bulky nests were found as a rule in out-buildings, and none was 

 found in the woods far from a human dwelling. One nest was built 

 in a rumpled paper sack which lay on a shelf in a woodshed. * * * 

 A nest found in 1917 was built into the corner of a large drygoods 

 box which had been nailed to the shadowy back of a barn." The 

 cavity was far too big, but a large lot of material had been brought 

 in and the structure was neat. "In front of the nest proper was a 

 crude path of weed-stalks and leaves possibly eighteen inches in 

 length. The entire nest with its approach could be lifted easily, so 

 skilfully were the stalks and leaf stems interwoven." 



Clara Calhoun (1911) tells of a most interesting nest that was 

 built "in a bolt-rack in a busy country blacksmith shop. * * * 

 The mother bird knew no fear, but flew boldly about, gathering shav- 



