BIRDS OF AMERICA 



WRENS 



Order Passeres ; suborder Oscines ; family Tr 



vtidcc 



N the TroglodytidcE or Wren family there are over 250 different forms through- 

 out the world, only some 30 species being represented in the eastern hemi- 

 sphere. In the tropical part of the Americas this family is most numerously 

 developed. Within the bounds of the United States there are twenty-eight 

 species and subspecies, occupying nearly the whole country from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. 



With the exception of the Marsh Wrens they all prefer some cozy nook 

 for their homes. The natural sites are in the cavities in trees and rocks but 

 it often happens that farm buildings afford just the place that they desire. 

 Their nests are usually dome-shaped and the eggs are numerous, the clutches 

 varying from 6 to 11. There are usually two broods each year. The eggs 

 are usually white or pinkish speckled with reddish-brown but sometimes they are immaculate 

 white or nearly uniform brown or plain greenish-blue. 



In plumage the sexes are alike; and the young do not differ materially, if at all, in color- 

 ation from the adults. Red, yellow, green, blue, or other pure colors are never found. On 

 the upper parts brown or reddish hues predominate and these are usually varied with bars, 

 streaks, or speckles of dusky. The under parts are white, gray, buffy, tawny, rufous, or 

 sooty or have two or more of these colors combined; these parts are rarely immaculate 

 and usually are streaked or barred. 



The Wrens are small birds. Their bills are long (usually as long as the head although 

 in some cases less) and compressed, usually slender and curved downward at the end. The 

 bristles at the corners of the mouth are usually obsolete but frequently they are quite plain 

 with one or two fairly well developed. The wing is rather short or very short, much con- 

 caved underneath and much rounded. The tail varies in its relative length, sometimes 

 shorter than the lower part of the leg; sometimes slightly longer than the wing but usually 

 about half or two-thirds as long as the wing ; it is always rounded and sometimes graduated 

 for more than one-third of its length; the tail-feathers are soft and rounded at the tips. 



Many members of this family are fine songsters, notably the Cactus, the Carolina, and 

 the Winter Wrens. When alarmed or displeased they give utterance to loud, harsh, and 

 insistent calls. These little birds are never quiet but are always active and seemingly excited 

 about something. The position in which they carry their tails is an indication of their 

 nervous temperament. 



Since the Wrens are among our most prolific song birds, it naturally follows that a large 

 amount of insect food must be consumed by the nestlings. The parents are industrious 

 foragers, and, when their home is in a garden, they will search every tree, shrub, and vine 

 for caterpillars and examine every post and fence rail and every cranny or crevice for insects 

 or spiders. No species of this family has been accused of harm, and their presence should 

 be encouraged about farms, ranches, and residences. 



CACTUS WREN 

 Heleodytes brunneicapillus couesi {Sliarpc) 



A. O. U. Number 71,) 



Other Name. — Coues's Cactus Wren. 



General Description. — Length, 8V2 inches. Upper 

 parts, brown, variegated ; under parts, white, spotted 

 with black. Bill, nearly as long as head, stout : wings. 



much rounded : tail, nearly as long as wing, decidedly 

 rounded, the feathers with broadly rounded tips. 



Color. — Crown and hindneck, plain deep brown, the 

 feathers slightly darker centrally : back, shoulders, and 



