bj:j:/ca"S wren. 73 



lying on tlic ;_:;v()un(l. the nest Vicing only two feet from the 

 ground. A typic;.! nest was composed of grasses, leaves, and 

 a few stems, and lined with horsehair, a few feathers and 

 pieces of snakeskins. It measured four inches in outside diame- 

 ter by two inside. 



In regard to the eggs Mr. Sennett sends a note of his expe- 

 rience, to which I concur. ''The eggs," he observes, "vary 

 in color and markings from those of the great Carolina to those 

 of Bewick's wren, but in size come much nearer to the form- 

 er. Those sets with the white ground-color, resembling in 

 that respect Bewick's, average .72 by .57 of an inch ; while 

 the eggs with the pinkish ground, coming nearer to the style 

 of the great Carolina's, average .74 by .58." 



48. BEWICK'S WREN. 

 THRYOTHORUS BEWICKII {Aud.) Bp. 



Long-tailed House Wren. 



This, also, is a somewhat soutlierti species reaching in the 

 east only as far north as central New Jersey, but in the inte- 

 rior states even to Minnesota where it breeds. It is not un- 

 common anywhere, but its nest and eggs are rare. For sever- 

 al years these wrens have brefl upon the premises of Dr. 

 Charles C. Abbott at Prospect Hill, Trenton. N. J. The 

 following interesting notes communicated b\- Dr. Abbott to 

 Science Gors//^ (Lontioii) for May. i^']^. are probablv a cor- 

 rect represc:it:;ti<):i of its habits every wliere. 



On the I5tli of July a pair of Bewick's wrens appeared in and about 

 one of my outbiiildinLjs. and in a day or two, having fixed upon a suit- 

 able spot for their nost. commenced carrying the materials necessary 

 for its construction. As they were not at all timid, I had abundant op- 

 portunities of watching them while so employed, and I must admit 

 that their modus operandi was very damaging to the poetry of birds' 

 nests. After the first few strands of long, tape-like grass had been ar- 

 ranged upon the beam, the birds came together to the spot, each carry- 

 ing a blade of grass or other equally flexible material. The female then 

 6at in the unfinished nest, while her mate wound loosely about her the 



