WRENS. 41 



The eggs measured .65 by .48 of and inch, and were spotted 

 with a bright reddish-brown and a few pale markings of purplish- 

 slate, on a pure white ground." — Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's 

 N. A. Birds, vol. i, pp. 155, 156, 157. 



65a. anorthura troglodytes pacificus. 



WESTERN WINTER WREN. ** 



66. anorthura alascensis. 



ALASKAN WREN. 



"In a small collection of birds' skins, nests, and eggs recently ac- 

 quired by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, collected at the Pri- 

 bylow Islands, Alaska, is the nest and two eggs of the Alaskan Wren 

 {^Troglodytes parvulus var. alascensis), which are believed to be the 

 first ever seen by Naturalists. The nest is quite large and very com- 

 pactly built, being composed externally of fine moss of a bright green 

 color, interwoven with fine roots, and lined heavily with hair and 

 feathers. Conspicuous among the latter are the rosy-tipped feath- 

 ers of the Leticostide griseimuha. The hairs are rather coarse and 

 white, three to four or five inches in length, and appear to be 

 hairs of the Polar Bear. The nest was obtained in June, 1876, on 

 St. George Island, by Mr. W. J. Mclntyre, to whom it was brought 

 by a native. It is said to have been placed deep down in the 

 crevices of large rocks, and to have originally contained twelve 

 eggs, all but two of which were broken before they came into Mr. 

 Mclntyre's possession. These measure, respectively, .68 by .51 and 

 .60 by .50. Their general color is dull white, with a very few minute 

 dots of reddish, so few and small as to be easily overlooked." — J. 

 A. Allen, Bull. Nutt. Om. Club, July, 1877, p. 82. 



67. TELMATODYTES PALUSTRIS 



LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN. 



The nest of this bird is formed outwardly of coarse sedges firmly 

 interwoven and cemented with clay or mud, making it impervious 

 to weather. The nest is nearly spherical, in size and shape re- 

 sembles a cocoanut. A small round hole is left on one side for en- 

 trance, the upper side of which is also protected from the rain by 



