1^6 Brewster on the Birds of Western North Carolina. [April 



brushy hillsides in the lowei- valleys. I did not detect it anywhere above 

 3000 feet, but was told that it is occasionally seen at Highlands (4000 feet). 

 8S. Thryothorus ludovicianus. Carolina Wren. — This species was 

 common in the valleys, and sparingly distributed over higher ground to 

 an elevation of at least 4000 feet. It was nowhere nearly as numerous, 

 however, as in tlie coast region of South Carolina. 



89. Thyothorus bewickii. Bewick's Wren. — Confined almost exclu- 

 sively to the towns, where it was usually one of the most abundant and 

 conspicuous birds. It is, in foct, the 'House Wren' of this region, and in 

 some respects is even more familiar and confiding than this better known 

 relative. At Asheville it was breeding in such numbers that nearly every 

 shed or other out-building harbored a pair, the male of which sang through 

 the. greater part of the day from the ridgepole or gable end of the roof. 

 The song is sweet and exquisitely tender — one of the sweetest and tender- 

 est strains I know. It recalls that of the Song Sparrow, but is more pro- 

 longed, varied, and expressive. This species resembles other Wrens 

 (especially T. ludovicianus) in habits and motions, creeping and hopping 

 about under eaves of buildings, and along fences, entering every hole and 

 crevice, and appearing and disappearing like a mouse. Its slender shape 

 and long tail give it, however, a somewhat peculiar appearance — much 

 Wke. that oi t\\Q Polioptilte. The tail is habitually carried above the line 

 of the back, although its position and inclination are constantly changing. 

 It is not moved in the usual jerky Wren-fashion, but rather slowly and 

 deliberately. In a breezy situation it often seems quite beyond the bird's 

 control, waving about with every passing puff of air. 



90. Troglodytes hiemalis. Winter Wren. — This species was met with 

 only on the Black Mountains, where it was abundant throughout the 

 balsams, from 5000 to 6000 feet, filling these lonely forests with its 

 exquisite melody at all times of the day. The song here seemed to me 

 even finer than at the North. Once or twice I caught a glimpse of one of 

 the singers perched on some low stump or moss-grown rock, but to my 

 disappointment I failed to secure a specimen. 



91. Certhia familiaris americana. Brown Creeper. — Common about 

 Highlands, and abundant in the 'balsams' on the Black Mountains, but not 

 seen in either locality below 4000 feet. At Highlands they frequented 

 hemlocks in the 'laurel' swamps, and girdled stumps bordering clearings. 

 The female of a pair shot May 29 was incubating. The males were in 

 full song everj'where, and their notes seemed to me identical with those of 

 the northern bird. My specimens are rather browner than spring exam- 

 ples from New England, but in other respects similar. Mr. Boynton has 

 taken the nest at Highlands. It was built in the usual way, behind a scale 

 of loose bark. 



92. Sitta carolinensis. White-bellied Nuthatch. — Only four seen, 

 one at Franklin in the trees shading the m.ain street of the village, the 

 other three at Highlands in oak woodland. 



93. Sitta canadensis. Red-bellied Nuthatch. — In the balsams of 

 the Black Mountains, from about 5000 feet to the top of the main ridge 

 (6000 feet), this Nuthatch was more abundant than I have ever seen it else- 

 where. Whenever I stopped to listen or look around its whining, nasal 



