628 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA — THOMPSON. 



near Portage la Prairie ; abundant near Winnipeg ; arrives about the 

 middle of May, departs late in September (Nash). On the Portage 

 la Prairie trail, east of Fairview " The Cinnamon Thrush is not un- 

 common among the sandy hills; we saw several during the day" 

 (Hind, 1858). 



Carberry: Common summer resident; breeding; Long River; Shoal 

 Lake, west (Thompson). At Swan Eiver; not common (Macoun). 

 Shell Eiver: 1885, first seen, one male, on May 23 ; next seen, two, on 

 May 25 ; is common all summer and breeds here (Calcutt). 



250. Troglodytes aedon aztecus. Western House Wren. Common Wren. 



Abundant summer resident in jmrtly wood localities. Breeding very 

 abundantly at Pembina in June ; taken at Mouse Eiver in September 

 (Coues). Winnepeg: Summer resident; tolerably common (Hine). Os- 

 sowo: Common breeding; 1885, first seen, two, on May 18; next seen, 

 May 19 ; became common, May 20 (Wagner). Oak Point : 1884, arrived 

 May 17 ; 1885, first seen, one, on May 17 ; next seen, one, on May 18; 

 is common and breeds here (Small). Portage la Prairie: Common sum- 

 mer resident ; arrives about May 21 ; departs early in September (Nash). 

 Carberry: Abundant summer i^esident; breeding; Duck Mountain breed- 

 ing (Thompson). Manitoba House, June : Breeding; also at Waterhen 

 Eiver ; frequent (Macoun). Shell Eiver : 1885, first seen, a pair, on May 

 17 ; afterward seen every day ; is common all summer, and breeds here 

 (Calcutt). Qu'Appelle : Common summer resident; breeds ; arrives May 

 12 (Guernsey). 



On July 9, 1884, I found a nest of young wrens over a window of the 

 ferry house on the Assiniboine. The old ones were laboring so inces- 

 santly to furnish them with food that I timed their journeys to ascertain 

 the amount of attention required by the nestlings. The parents re- 

 turned ten times in fifteen minutes, sometimes bringing only one insect, 

 but usually with their bill full of them. Twice during that time they 

 carried out dung in their bills, dropping it some 20 yards from the nest. 

 At this rate the old ones would make not less than five hundred journeys 

 each day. The time of observation was 6 o'clock in the evening. Mr. 

 Kennicott ascertained that a pair of wrens carried to their young about 

 one thousand insects in a single day ; but this is perhaps below the 

 mark, for the pair I have just mentioned often brought three or four 

 insects at a time. 



It is probable that two broods each season are raised by this species 

 in Manitoba. 



It will be seen that although this bird usually nests in a hollow 

 stump, it is not averse to a different situation, provided only that it 

 be a hole, and deep enough and narrow enough to exclude any but the 

 owner. If the hole chance to be in the least a loose fit, his first care is 

 to blockade the doorway with the largest twigs he can carry until he 

 has reduced it to his own idea of snugness ; and I learned to accept it 



