= THE WESTERN MARSH WREN. 
time is in the spring, when the male shoots up into the air a few feet above the 
reeds, like a ball from a Roman candle, and sputters all the way, only to drop 
back, extinguished, into the reeds again. This is a part of the tactics of his 
courting season, when, if ever, a body may be allowed a little liberty. For the 
rest, he clings sidewise to the cat-tail stems or sprawls in midair, reaching, 
rather than flying from one stem to another. His tail is cocked up and his 
head thrown back, so that, on those few occasions when he is seen, he does not 
get credit for being as large as he really is’ (The Birds of Ohio). 
Since his sphere of activity is so limited, we may proceed at once to the 
main interest, that of nest-build- 
ing. And this is precisely as the 
Marsh Wren would have it, else 
why does he spend the livelong 
day making extra nests, which are 
of no possible use to anyone, save 
as examples of ‘Telmatodytine 
architecture? It is possible that 
the female is coquettish, and re- 
quires these many mansions as 
evidence that the ardent swain 
will be able to support her becom- 
ingly after marriage. Or, it may 
be, that the suitor delights to af- 
ford his lady love a wide range 
of choice in the matter of homes, 
and seeks thus to drive her to the 
Taken inevitable conclusion that there is 
jaoers only one home-maker for her. 
However this may be, it is certain 
Photo 5 
by that one sometimes finds a con- 
a iS . 
ists siderable group of nest-balls, each 
Merrill. 5 
of apparent suitability, before any 
are occupied. 
On the other hand, the male continues his harmless activities long after 
his mate has selected one of his early efforts and deposited her eggs; so that 
the odlogist may have to sample a dozen “‘cock’s nests,’ or decoys, before the 
right one is found. Some empty nests may be perfectly finished, but others 
are apt to lack the soft lining; while still others, not having received the 
close-pressed interstitial filling, will be sodden from the last rains. 
NEST OF WESTERN MARSH WREN, IN SITU. 
The Marsh Wren’s nest is a compact ball of vegetable materials, lashed 
midway of cat-tails or bulrushes, living or dead, and having a neat entrance 
hole in one side. A considerable variety of materials is used in construction, but 
