THE WINTER WREN. 267 
No. 116. 
WINTER WREN. 
A. O. U. No. 722. Olbiorchilus hiemalis (Vieill.). 
Description.—Adult: Above, warm dark brown (burnt umber), duller be- 
fore, brighter on rump, obscurely waved or barred with dusky on back, wings, and 
tail ; edges of four or five outer primaries spotted with white at regular intervals ; 
concealed white spots on rump scarce, or almost wanting; a pale superciliary line ; 
sides of head speckled, brownish and white; under parts everywhere finely mot- 
tled, speckled, or barred—on the throat and breast mingled brownish (Isabella- 
color) and white, below dusky and white, dusky predominating over Rows on 
flanks and crissum ; bill comparatively short, straight, blackish above, lighter below ; 
feet light brown. Length about 4.00 (101.6); average of five Columbus speci- 
mens: wing 1.86 (47.2) ; tail 1.26 (32.); bill .40 (10.2). 
Recognition Marks.—Pyemy size; dark brown above, lighter below ; more 
or less speckled and barred all over; tail shorter than in preceding species. 
Nesting.—Not known to breed in Ohio. Nest, of moss and a few small 
twigs, lined heavily with feathers, placed among roots of upturned tree, or in cran- 
nies of decayed stumps, brush-heaps, etc., Eggs, 5-7, white or creamy-white, dotted 
finely but sparingly with reddish brown; “occasionally blotched with the same; 
sometimes almost unmarked. Average size, .69 x .50 (17.5 X 12.7). 
General Range.—E astern North America, breeding from the northern parts 
of the United States northward, and in the Alleghanies south to North Carolina. 
Winters from about its southern breeding limits southward. 
Range in Ohio.—Regular during migrations, wintering southerly. Found 
in winter sparingly in the central portions, casual northerly. A few linger in 
northern Ohio into late May and are suspected of breeding. 
WHEN the woods are bare and the leaves are huddled into corners to 
escape the teasing of a November wind, a little brown shadow flashes up for an 
instant at the edge of a brush heap, chitters apprehensively once or twice, and 
is gone again, just as you have made up your mind that the Winter Wren has 
come. A cautious foot resting on the heap and stirring gently will bring him 
out again to estimate the danger. How deliciously absurd it is! this tiny 
creature with its sparkling eyes and dumpy form. Its tail, too, is turned 
up until it leans the other way, and it gives one the impression that the bird 
will tumble forward and nothing to prevent it. 
When driven from one cover the Winter Wren instantly seeks another, 
and spends little time a-wing, except as it flits from branch to branch. It is 
to be found principally along river bottoms and in ravines, under overhanging 
banks, and about upturned roots of trees. Some occasionally venture into the 
