592 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



ing, and I have the best of reasons (though not absolute proof) 

 for believing that the male continues to work on the "mock" 

 nests while his mate is actually engaged in incubating the eggs. 

 They eat the various species of insects, grubs, larvae and 

 insects' eggs which may be found near their homes. 



Genus CISTOTHORUS Cabanis. 



Subgenus CISTOTHORUS. 



724. Cistothorus stellaris (Licht.). Short-billed Marsh 

 Wren. 



Plumage : wings and tail barred with black ; upper parts streaked with 

 white, black and ochraceous buff ; breast, sides and under tail coverts tinged 

 and washed with ochraceous buff; otherwise white or whitish below. Wing 

 1.78 ; tail 1.62 ; culmen 0.41. 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America, west to the Plains, north to southern 

 New Hampshire, southern Ontario, southern Michigan, southern Manitoba, 

 and at Bangor, Maine ; wintering in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 



County Records. — Penobscot ; an adult male was taken near Bangor, May 

 30, 1898, and another later on, they have retirrned to the same breeding 

 place annually since discovered, (Knight). 



The occurrence of these birds near Bangor in the midst of 

 a typical Canadian fauna is peculiar, especially as this is the 

 only station positively known for the species in Maine. In a 

 fresh water meadow of a few acres in extent, within a stone's 

 throw of and surrounded by typical Canadian faunal surround- 

 ings and where in the near vicinity breed the White-throated 

 Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Yellow Palm 

 Warbler, Winter Wren and other Canadian birds, in the midst 

 of such surroundings we find the only positively known Maine 

 breeding place of these birds. Though absolute proof was 

 lacking until I re-discovered them here in 1898, there is very 

 good reason for believing that their nests and eggs were taken 

 here nearly twenty years previously by Mr. Bowler, the taxi- 

 dermist, though there is no evidence that any of these eggs 

 taken by him are now preserved. Mr. Smith's record, (F. & 



