>Ii<»i;T-|lll,l,Kl) .MAUSII WHMN. ,;.-^;. 



sti'ipi'l uith it Til" Imrt' nf the lower parts is brighter. The iie:jtliugs do not . litter fro m the plumajje 



laJt ilescribe.i Iris and bill, brown, the latter lijrhter on the basal three- 

 fourths cjfthe lower uiaiulible. Feet, pale brown. 



OBSERVATION'S. 



1 can see w> ditterenee between s()eciniens taken in Florida and those 



IV .111 the N'ortli. This species may be distinguished from the preceding as 



described under that head. Breeds in the United States and Southern 



Canada. Winters from the Carolinas, southward, but I did not sec it in the 



,,. ,,, ,j , ,. , , everglades '.)f Florida or among the kevs. 



tig. 11)^. lleadnf adult 



Short-billed Marsh Wren. UBIENSlONS 



Average measurements of ten specimens. Length, -i.o7 ; stretch, .5.50 ; wing, 1.7! I : tail, l.TO; bill, .12 : 

 tarsus, .4;). Longest spen-imen, 4. HO, greatest extent of wings, 5.60; longest wing, L9U : tail, L60; bill, 

 A'l: tarsu-. .7-5. Shortest specimen. 4.011 : smallest extent of wings, •5."-'4 : shortest wing, 1.75 : tail. l..')ii : 

 bill, .JO ; tarsus, .(ID. 



DESCRIPTION ( )F NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nk.-^ts. built in the tii])s of meailow grass. Composed of green grass bent and woven into a hollow ball 

 with a hole for an entr.uicc at the side. They are usually lined with fine grasses. Dimensions; external 

 diameter. 7 inches: internal. 1.75. E(iGS, commonly six in number, oval in form, and pure white in color. 

 Dimensions, from .liO by ..5() to .75 by .55. 



HABITS. 



The Sliurt-liiiled Mansh Wrens inhabit the <h-yer iuar.'<!ies of Massachusetts nestino- in 

 the tussock grass. I found them building on June 12th, 1880, on the Wavland nietidows. 

 At this date their sinutdar domed structures were fullv completed but contained no eo-o's 

 The !)ird«: were (!onstintly n jar the nests and would scold me when 1 approached them; 

 they were t.uiie and allowed me to go within a few feet of them before they disappeared in 

 the grass. It was not u:itil Jul v 6th that the nests contained any eggs and then the bii-ds had 

 just begun to hiv, but tiie full set was not deposited until about the middle of the month. 

 Like their near relations the Long-bills, the males construct several nests in a season, but 

 not as many as do those of tlie idlied species. The nests are partly woven of the ends 

 of (he long grass whi(di thus keeps green, so the singular domiciles are difficult to .see, 

 especially that of the female which is often placed very low, sometimes within five or six- 

 inches of the ground. Unless disturbed the Short-billed Wrens keep well in concealment, 

 but when their breeding ground is approached they appear on the grass tops, and throw- 

 ing their tails over their back, will scoldthe intruder, but their notes are not as harsh tis 

 are those of the Long-bills. The song is very peculiar and consists of two or three double 

 notes which, when heard at a little distance, remind one somewhat of the sounds produced 

 bv striking witli a small hamuier upon an anvil. Singularly this song is given all night 

 long during the breeding season. 



Although the Short-billed Marsh Wrens do not arrive in Massachusetts very earh- in 

 the spring tliey often remain until October. T found them in the middle of November, 

 1876, all along the dry marshes which skirt the western shore of Pamlico Sound and from 

 this i>oint southwest to middle Florida they were abundant in the dry marshes and high 



