TROGLODYTID.E — THE WRENS. 137 



The nest is homogeneous in structure, composed entirely of thin strips of 

 reddish-colored bark and line roots, interspersed with a few small bits of 

 wool. It is distorted by packing, so that measurements of it would be 

 valueless ; its dimensions in its pressed condition are : diameter, 5 inches ; 

 depth, 2 inclies. The cavity is shallow and saucer-shaped. 



From Mr. Eidgway we learn that from the summit of the Sierra Ne\"ada 

 eastward, as far as the party explored, he found this Wren universally dis- 

 tributed. In the middle provinces of tlie Rocky Mouutains it was the most 

 abundant sjiecies of the family, but was not so abundant in the Wahsatch 

 Mountains. The general resort of this species was among rocky or stony 

 liill-slopes, though it was not confined to such localities. At Carson City 

 he found it particularly partial to the rubbish of the decaying pine-logs. At 

 Virginia City it was the only Wren seen frequenting the old buildings and 

 abandoned mining-shafts, in its predilection for such places reminding him 

 very much of the Tliryothorus ludovicianus, which in its manners it very 

 strongly resembles. 



Mr. Ridgway noticed a wonderful variety in the notes of this Wren. Its 

 peculiarly guttural turee was repeatedly heard, and its song in spring had 

 a slight resemblance in modulation to that of the Carolina Wren, though 

 altogether lacking the power and richness so characteristic of the superb song 

 of that bird. Frequently its song was changed into a prolonged monotonous 

 trill, similar to the tremulous spring-call of the Jvnco hjjemalis. 



This species is not so wary as the Caiherpcs mexicanus. Upon suddenly 

 starting up an individual of this kind, lie would Hy to the nearest boulder, 

 turn with his breast towards the party, swing oddly from side to side, all the 

 while ludicrously bowing and scolding the intruder with his peculiar sharp 

 expressions of displeasure. 



Dr. Cooper, in his paper on the Fauna of the Territory of Montana, states 

 that he observed this bird occasionally through the main Rocky Mountain 

 chain to near the crossing of the Bitterroot, but it was less common tlian 

 among the cliffs and rocks of the barren plain along their eastern slope. 

 Though he did not find it in the western part of Wasliington Territory, lie 

 has no doubt that it frequents parts of the rocky canons of the Cohnnbia 

 Plain. A nest with nine eggs was found in a log-cabin below Fort Benton. 



Genus CATHERPES, BAmo. 



Catherpcs, Baiud, Birds N. Am. 1858, 357. (Type, TJin/o/Jinrns mexicanus, S\v.) 



Gen. Char. Bill longer than the head, slender ; all the outlines nearly straight to the 

 tip, then gently decurved, gonys least so ; nostrils linear; tarsus short, about equal to tlie 

 middle toe, which reaches to the middle of the middle claw. Outer toe consideral)ly 

 longer than the inner, reaching beyond the base of the middle claw. Wings a little longer 

 than the tail; the exposed portion of the first primary about half that of the fourth and 

 18 



