66 JVBSTS AND EGGS OF BIRDS. 



43. THE CACTUS ^WREN. 



CAMPYLORHYNCHUS BRUNNEICAPILLUS {Lafr.) Gr. 



Brown-headed Creeper NVren. 



The habitat of this long-named little bird is the arid and 

 desolate region stretching from the Rio Grande to Sau. Diego^ 

 and northward into Utah and Nevada. South of the Gila 

 river it is very abundant, but in Lower California, it is re- 

 placed by C. aff,nis. These wrens are fond of the dense shrub- 

 bery, and go in little companies or families, the brood probably 

 remainino- tocjether during the fall and winter. On the Colora- 

 do desert its nests are frequently to be met with, laid flat 

 between the forks or on the branches of the cactus. They are 

 in the ft)rm of a purse as large nearly as a peck-measure, com- 

 posed of line grasses well interwoven, and are lined with feath- 

 ers. The entrance is in the form of a covered passage six to 

 ten inches in length. Dr. Heerman says that he often used to 

 open these nests and examine the feathers of the lining for the 

 sake of finding what birds were in the neighborhood ; among 

 other results, he thus ascertained the extreme western limit of 

 the blue partridge. Dr. Cooper mentions a nest that he saw on 

 the barren mountains west of the Colorado valley which was 

 built so openly (adapting it to the warmer climate, as he sup- 

 posed) that the young could be plainly seen through the walls. 



The five eggs are pale delicate salmon color, often so thickly 

 and uniformly speckled with ash}' and darker salmon-colored 

 spots as to give a rich cast to the whole surface. They are oval 

 and slightly pointed in shape, i.03 inches long by .68 broad. 

 These wrens have been found breeding as late as Sept. 13, and 

 as early as February 26, fledged young and fresh eggs being 

 taken side by side on the same day. 



