NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 23 



or six in number and measure .69 by .49. The nest of this diminutive 

 Wren is placed in low stumps, in crevices of unoccupied buildings, in the 

 tangled piles of fallen trees and branches. It is composed of small twigs 

 with moss interwoven, and warmly lined with feathers of the Ruffed and 

 Canada Grouse, Blue Jay and other birds. In its general habits, this bird 

 resembles the common House Wren. It is said to be more abundant on 

 its breeding grounds in Maine and New Hampshire than elsewhere in New 



England at any other season. Hab. North America generally. 



67. Long-billed Marsh Wren — telmatodytes palustris. Thickly 

 marked with brown spots so as to appear of a uniform chocolate color; 

 they number from six to ten and average in size about .58 by .45. The 

 nest is globular, very conspicuous by its bulk and its exposed position. 

 It is built of grasses and reeds loosel}' interwoven and often plastered with 

 mud, securely fastened to its upright swaying reeds; it is lined with fine 

 grasses, has a hole on one side, sometimes nearer the bottom than the top. 

 The bird is found in swampy places and salt marshes where it nests in col- 

 onies of greater or less extent. Distributed throughout North America 

 during the breeding season. 



Hab. Temperate North America and Mexico, south to Guatemala. 



68. Short billed Marsh Wren — cistothorus stellaris. Pure white, 

 unmarked and number six to eight, measuring about .60 by .45 by .54. The 

 eggs are exceedingly delicate and fragile, more so than is usual even in 

 the eggs of Hummingbirds. The nest corresponds to that of the Long- 

 billed, but no mud is used in its construction. It is constructed in the 

 midst of a tussock of coarse, high grass, the tops of which are ingeniously 

 interwoven into a coarse and strong covering, spherical in shape, and 

 closed on every side, except one small aperture left for entrance. The 

 strong wiry grass of the tussock is also interwoven with finer materials, 

 making the whole impervious to the weather. The inner nest is composed 

 of grasses and finer sedges, lined with soft, vegetable down. 



Hab. Chiefly Eastern United States, in reedy swamps and marshes; winters in the Southern States, 



71. American Titlark — anthus ludovicianus. Dark chocolate color, 

 indistinctly marked with numerous small lines and streaks of black; four 

 or five in number and average a little over .75 by .60. The nest is con- 

 structed on the ground and is large and bulky, made of coarse dry grasses 

 and moss loosely put together. This bird breeds in the mountains of Col- 

 orado in the West, and from Labrador northward in the East. It is also 



called Pipit and Brown Lark. Hab. N:-rth America everywhere. 



73. Sprague's Titlark — neocorys spraguei. White, minutely dotted 

 with grayish-purple, so as to appear of a uniform color; they are four or 



