THE BEWICK WREN. 263 
BARELY known as an Ohio bird at Wheaton’s time (its nest having been 
found once in Circleville) the Bewick Wren today is the Wren of Southern 
Ohio. Since his arrival the House Wren has “left the country” and has been 
entirely replaced by this better songster and thriftier species. When the chill- 
ing blasts of February, 1899, howled over the Scioto Valley bottoms and crept 
into every ravine of the hills, the thermometer standing at 30° below zero, 
when Goldfinches and Spar- 
rows dropped out of the sky, 
exhausted and frozen, the 
cheerful voice of the Be- 
wick Wren was 
loudly ringing from 
some favorite perch. 
How I had to 
Chilavery ee santenaaie! 
While man and 
t 
i feet 
: 
ES 
Taken near Reo ae 
Waverly. A NEST IN THE WOOD-PILE. Henninger. 
beast were seeking shelter from this cold, and the earth was groaning under 
its burden of snow, he, undaunted, gay and light-hearted, was singing in 
anticipation of the joyous springtime. And again when trees and flowers 
bloom, or when midsummer’s sun is blazing down in unabated fury, his song 
greets us at our home. Not a voluble merry chatter, like the House Wren’s, 
but clear, strong and cheery, easily heard for a quarter of a mile,——such is 
the song of Bewick’s Wren. Easily distinguished from the former he has 
the same teasing days about him,—now peeping into some corner, now ex- 
amining the woodpile, now crawling into a knot-hole of the smoke-house, 
creeping forth like a mouse at the next moment, whisking his erectly-carried 
tail, watching you carefully vhough fearlessly, he all of a sudden mounts 
some fence-post, pouys forth his proud metallic notes, drops down into the 
chicken yard, disappears in the pig pen, mockingly scolds at you, sings again,and 
is willing to keep this game up all day. We do not know which to admire more, 
