TROCtLODYTID^ — THE WRENS. 153 



Troglodytes sedon, var. parkmanni, Aud. 



PARKMAN'S WREN ; WESTERN WOOD WREN. 



Troglodytes parkmanni, Aud. Oni. Biog. V, 1839, 310. — Ib. Synopsis, 1839, 76. — Ib. 

 Birds Am. II, 1841, 133, pi. cxxii. — Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 367; Kev. 140.— 

 Cooper & Suckley, P. R. R. Rep. XII, ii, 1860, 191 (nest). — Sclater, Catal. 1861, 

 23, no. 146. — Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 71. Troglodytes sylvestris, Gambel, Pr. A. 

 N. Sc. Ill, 1846, 113 (California, (juotes erroneously Aud. T. americanus). 



Hab. Western and Middle Provinces of United States. East to tlie Missouri River. 

 Western Arizona, Coues. 



Although the differences between the eastern and western House Wrens, 

 as stated in the Birds of North America, are not very appreciable, yet 

 a comparison of an extensive series shows that they can hardly be consid- 

 ered as identical. The general color oi parkmanni above is paler and grayer, 

 and there is little or none of the rufous of the lower back and rump. The 

 bars on the upper surface are rather more distinct. The under parts are 

 more alike, as, while wdon sometimes has flanks and crissum strongly tinged 

 with rufous, other specimens are as pale as in T. parkmanni. 



Perhaps the most appreciable differences between the two are to be found 

 in the size and proportions of wing and tail. The wing in ^jar^"ma;i;ii is 

 quite decidedly longer than in axlon, measuring, in males, 2.12 to 2.15, in- 

 stead of 2.00 to 2.05. This is due not so nuich to a larger size as to a greater 

 develo]iment of the primaries. The first quill is equal to or barely more 

 than half the second in p>arkmanni ; and the difference between the longest 

 primary and the tenth amounts to .32 of an inch, instead of about .20 in 

 a:don, where the first quill is nearly half the length of the third, and much 

 more than half the length of the second. 



Habits. This western form, hardly distinguishable from the common 

 House Wren of the Eastern States, if recognized as a distinct species, 

 is its complete analogue in regard to habits, nest, eggs, etc. It was first 

 obtained by Townsend on the Columbia River, and described by Audubon in 

 1839. It has since been observed in various parts of the country, from the 

 Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Coast, and from Cape St. Lucas to Oregon. 



Dr. Cooper, in his Birds of Washington Territory, speaks of this Wren as 

 common about Puget Sound, wliere it appeared to be much less familiar than 

 our common Wren, though its habits and song seemed to be very similar. It 

 there frequented chiefly the vicinity of woods and piles of logs, neither 

 seeking nor dwelling in the vicinity of houses. It arrives there about the 

 20th of April. As observed about Vancouver in 1853, its song appeared to 

 Dr. Cooper different from that of the T. mdon. He found one of their nests 

 built in a horse's skull that liad been stuck upon a fence. Dr. Suckley, who 

 observed these birds about Fort Steilacoom, describes their voice as harsh 

 and unmusical. 



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