78 Norman A. Wood 



299. Troglodytes a'cdon parkmaiii Aiulubon. Western House Wren. 



CouES, 1878, p. 554; observed as far west as the confines of the Missouri Coleau. 

 In June it was breeding very abundantly at Pembina, on the Red River, where speci- 

 mens were taken June 2 to June 26. Others were taken at Mouse River, September 

 3, and Long Coteau River, September 11, 1873. Thwaites, 1906, p. 213; on Novem- 

 ber 3, 1833, Maximilian records seeing a wren in driftwood along the river below 

 Fort Union. He says it was doubtless Troglodytes hyemalis, but at this late date 

 it may have been the winter wren. Judd^ 191 7, p. 27; very common summer resident 

 of the Turtle Mountains; it arrives about May 15. 



I first saw the species at Devils Lake, May 19, 1921, and later it was at 

 all of the localities worked. Cones' notes are given under the eastern form 

 and Schmidt also lists a'cdon a'cdon, but we refer all North Dakota specimens 

 to the western house wren. A set of seven eggs in the collection of the 

 Museum of Zoology was taken June 15, 1S96, at Sweetwater Lake, Ramsey 

 County, by E. S. Bryant. This is a very beneficial species generally dis- 

 tributed in North Dakota. 



300. N annus hleinalis hiemalis (X'ieillotj. Winter Wren. 



JuDD, 1917, p. 2y ; rare, now and then one seen. Schmidt, 1904; eastern North 

 Dakota. 



I did not see this species in life, but there was a mounted one in the 

 Williams Collection at Grafton, taken there April 15, 192 1, by Henry Wil- 

 liams, who told me it was the only one seen there in his many years of col- 

 lecting. It is no doubt a rare migrant in North Dakota. 



301. Cisfothorus stcllaris (Naumann). Short-billed Marsh Wren. 



CouES, 1878, p. 555; rather plentiful along the Red River; a male was taken at 

 Pembina. June 4, and at Mouse River. August 0. 1873. CouES. 1897, P- 9o; July 15, 

 Audubon says he heard the notes of the short-billed marsh wren near Fort Union : 

 p. 107; July 21, found the short-billed marsh wren very abundant. Schmidt, 1904; 

 central and eastern North Dakota. BaiuEy, 1916, p. 20; saw and heard many in the 

 lalce region of North Dakota. Judd, 1917, p. 28; locally common; nests in high, 

 thick grass near sloughs; arrives May 6 to 28. Freeman, 1919, p. 16; summer resi- 

 dent, not common. 



This species was not seen at Devils Lake, but on July 29, a colony was 

 found near Anselm, Ransom County, where they were nesting in the tall 

 grass of a dry slough. Specimens were seen in the Agricultural College 

 Museum from Hankinson, taken July 23, 1919, by W. B. Bell, and from 

 Fargo, September 28, 1912, W. B. Bell. A nest in the Museum of Zoology 

 was taken at Sweetwater Lake by Charles L. Cass. 



302. Telmatotydcs palustris iliacus Ridgway. Prairie Marsh Wren. 



Ridgway, 1904, p. 494; from Chief Mountain Lake, North Dakota. Schmidt, 

 1904; central and eastern North Dakota. BailEy, 1916, p. 20; common in the lake 

 region. Judd, 1917, p. 28; locally common; nests in high rushes. 



They were found on July 29, near Anselm, Ransom County, nesting in 

 tall rushes growing in the water of an extensive pond or slough. The wrens 

 are all very beneficial in their food habits and destroy many injurious insects. 



