BIRDS OF WEST VIRGINIA — WETMORE 419 



Family TROGLODYTIDAE 



TROGLODYTES AEDON BALDWINI Oberholser 



Ohio House Wren 



This recently described form ^^ is darker in color above, with the 

 brown duller and less rufescent, and the sides, flanks, and iinderparts 

 grayer. Specimens assigned to this race were obtained as follows: 

 7 miles east of Philippi, Barbour County, June 3; Cave Creek Run, 

 near Moatsville, Barbour County, June 6; Flanagans Hill, Canaan 

 Valley, southern Tucker County, July 6; 3,000 feet elevation above 

 Williams River, October 3; Cranberry Glades (where they were un- 

 usually abundant), June 12 to 16; Middle Mountain, 12 miles north- 

 east of Durbin, June 29; and 4,860 feet elevation on Spruce Knob, 

 September 19 and 23. These agree fairly well with a series from the 

 type locality though averaging somewhat grayer above. 



According to Oberholser (Z. c, p. 90) typical aedon occurs at 

 Charlestown in the extreme eastern part of the State, while possibly 

 the western house wren (T. a. parkmani) might occur in the extreme 

 west along the Ohio River as a migrant. Wrens seem to be rare in 

 this western section, as none were recorded here during the work of 

 1936. The breeding bird of West Virginia, except for the extreme 

 eastern section, seems to be the Ohio house wren. 



Oberholser (/. c, p. 87) uses Sylvia domestica Wilson (Amer. Ornith., 

 vol. 1, 1808 [after Sept. 1], p. 5, description on p. 129, pi. 8, fig. 3) 

 for the typical race of the house wren, designating Philadelphia as 

 type locality, on his supposition that Troglodytes aedon Vieillot (Ois. 

 Amer. Sept., vol. 2, p. 52) appeared in May 1809. The title page 

 of this volume, however, is dated 1807. Vieillot's work came out in 

 parts, and Oberholser writes "since Troglodytes aedon occurs in the 

 second volume in the text to plate 107 (there are only 124 in the whole 

 work) it could hardly have appeared before 1809." This, however, 

 seems to be assumption without definite fact, and I do not care to 

 abandon the long-current name aedon without certain proof that such 

 action is necessary. 



Vieillot's work was projected originally to appear in four volumes 

 but was abandoned at the close of the second, presumably because of 

 the appearance of Wilson's work covering the same ground. 



NANNUS HIEMALIS HIEMAUS (Vieillot) 



Eastern Winter Wren 



The only one obtained was secured 2 miles east of Ben Lomond, 

 Mason County, on October 28. 



13 Ohio Journ. Sci., vol. 34, 1934, p. 90 (Gates Mills, Ohio). 



