THE OOLOGIST. 



143 



The Wrens of North Carolina. 

 J. \V. p. Smithwick, Sans Souci, N. C. 



Carolina Wren. {Tliryotliorus Indovi- 

 ciamis). As its name implies it is tl\e 

 Wren of Carolina, inhabiting the state 

 from the wave beaten coast to t^he 

 grandeur of the western mountains. 

 There are perhaps more of this species 

 in the state than all tlie rest, put to- 

 gether, leaving out the little Winter 

 Wren, (Truglodylef /lycnut/is). 



Karly sjjriug mornings al)<)Ut tlie tirst 

 bird you hear is the 'Long-tailed Wren" 

 [It is generally known by this name.] 

 sitting on .some favorite limb or fence, 

 warbling forth his unexcelled dhty to 

 the rising sun and his mate that is just 

 in that clump of briars near-there. He 

 is a faithful husband and on no account 

 will lie desert his mate. They are 

 aflfection;»tc parents and 1 have often 

 seen them following tine broods of 

 young Wrens, trying as if it seemed to 

 get them to do this way or that, which 

 of course was resented by the young- 

 sters if it did not exactly agree with 

 their wishes. They are /rec and want 

 to enjoy their freedom. VVlio blames 

 them? 1 do not. 



The Carolina VV'ren is rather an early 

 uester, and nestlniilding often com- 

 mences in March, and any time from 

 then until the middle of June. I know 

 that they raise two l)roods in one sea- 

 son, and am inclined to think tliat 

 some pairs raise three Iiroods, as I have 

 .seen three sets of young near the same 

 place. Ill the sets that I have taken I 

 find five the usual complement of eggs; 

 variation, four to six, and in raie 

 instances, seven. 



Bewick's Wren, [Tlirfjomancs bcivlcM), 

 is a rare winter visitor, but perhaps 

 oftener seen on or near the coast tlian 

 in th«' western part of the state; 



House Wren, {Troylodijles aedon). — 



Rare transient. PossiI)ly may itreed. 



Winter Wren, (Troylodt/lcs hyanalis.) 



A common winter visitant in the east- 

 ern and middle section, but Mr. John 

 S. Cairns reports it as rare in Bun- 

 comlie County. In this locality no 

 other small bird is more seen (except 

 the gregarious species) than the Winter 

 Wren. Every pile of brush has its littlo 

 occupant. They leave in March for 

 their norllieru hones, and return iu 

 November. 



Long-billed Marsh Wren, {Tehnatv- 

 dijf.fs jxdusiris.) Tolerable common 

 migrant. 



There is a legend - better a "saying" 

 — among the people of this section, that 

 one day a Hawk caught a Wren that was 

 trespassing, and Avas going to eat him, 

 when his pity was moved by the liard 

 pleadings of the Wren. The Hawk 

 desisted for a while, but after all let the 

 Wren go upon his promising the Hawk 

 that he would never be caught flying 

 higher than the fences. To-day if you 

 ask any of the people why a Wren 

 keeps close to the ground, they will at 

 once enter into half an hour's job to tell 

 you that al)out the "Hawk and Wren." 



There is another such tale about the 

 Buz/.-ard, giving the reason why their 

 heads are bald. Perliaps I may give 

 it to you later. 



What Causes the Quick Notes of the 

 Whippoorwill? . 



Ill the Ooi.ocisT for Aug., 181)0, page 

 105, the "Arkansaw Hoosier," writes 

 among other things of the Whippoor- 

 will, and says: 



"Ol'ten wlieii whistling tliey seem to 

 net exciteii, or in a lir.rry, And ici)eal 

 the words very rajjiiliy for a time." 



Tlie following incident was observed 

 under my window. One evening, be- 

 fore it was too dark to see, and wjiilo 

 we were >itling <iuielly without any 

 liglit in tiu- room,*i Whipiioorwill lit in 

 the yard, some eight or ten feel from 

 the Inmse and liegan his song. He had 

 not sung long until another lit williin 



