644 GREAT CAUULINA WREN. 



cealiiieiit for n few iiioiUL'iit.s lie will hear a. series of luw notes and presently a Wren will 

 he seen peering cautionsly out from among the leaves ; then another will appear, for they 

 ar<^- usually found in pairs. They will not venture into o})en view, however, but will hop 

 quickly about with their upraised tails which they will occasionly jerk in a nervous man- 

 ner; then, niton the slightest movement indicative of danger will plunge at once into the 

 cover, uttering a querulous cry, which they continue as long as the supposed enemy keeps 

 at a little distance but, upon his near approach, the birds will become quiet and endeavor 

 to escape I'rom the immediate neighborhood without showing themselves ; this they gen- 

 erally acomplish with such skill that the observer Avonders what has become of them. I 

 have frequently seen these wrens in isolated bushes and, after seeing them vanish, have 

 beat about the place where they disappeared, then through it without starting them, 

 afterwards finding that the wily birds had escaped by running with great rapidity beneath 

 the grass and weeds to the ne.xt thicket. Even while resting it is difficult to find them, 

 for although the female is setting, she will generally manage to Hy from the nest so 

 (juicklv as not to be visible, for she takes care to place every availaljle of)stacle between 

 herself and the object from which she wishes to escape. I have found several nests yet 

 have never succeeded in surprising the birds near them ; but although such has been my 

 experience, one of my companions, Mr. C. A. Thurston, was enabled, l)y using extreme 

 caution, to capture one on the nest which was built in the top of a stinnp but a- few feet 

 from the ground. I know of no birds which are more varial^le in selecting places in which 

 to laiild their nests. The usual situations chosen by the wrens on Indian River were at 

 the bottoms of the "boots" of the palmettoes. The "boot" is the base of the dead leaf 

 stalks which adhere to the tree after the top has decayed and fallen ofl", they are (juite 

 l)road, slightly concave, and extend iqjward in an oblique direction leading a space be- 

 tween them and the trunk ; the fronds in falling often cover the top with a fibrous debri-; 

 which is impervious to water and the cavities beneath t'oi'm a snug nesting place for the 

 Carolina Wrens. Many more nests will be found in these situations than elsewlnre, 

 especially in the wilderness ; but I once found one built between two palmetto leaves 

 which had dropped over in such a position that their siu'faces were horizontal and only 

 three or four inches apart, forming a fioor as well as a roof for the home of the Wiens. 

 They had conveyed a large amount of suitable material into this place and formed a cozy 

 domicile. The frond's were swaged by every passing breeze, yet in such a Tuanner as not 

 to injure the structure which was between them. 



I have spoken of an instance of tlieir l)uildingin a stiniqi which ajijtears to be a sonic- 

 wliat connnon practice ; they Avill also breed in holes of trees; one nest which came mider 

 my notice was placed in the fork of an orange tree, l.'ut a few rods from an inhabiteil dwel- 

 ling; they will also take up an abode in buildings, and (apt. Dummett assured me that two 

 or three pairs inhabited his boat house, which was placed over the water, every seascjn. I 

 have known of the eggs Ix'ing taken tVoni the interinr of r, Ijarn, the liirds having found 

 entrance through a knot hole. 



This species begin to breed about the first of April and continue initil June, rearing 



