WRENS: Family Troglodytidae [ 457 ] 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Southern Oregon east of Coast Ranges to Warner Moun- 

 tains south through Sacramento Valley to central San Joaquin Valley. In Oregon: 

 The permanent resident and breeding bird of Lake, Klamath, Jackson, and Josephine 

 Counties. (See Figure 16.) 



THE SAN JOAQUIN WREN is a common bird in the Rogue River Valley and 

 almost equally abundant in the vicinity of Klamath Falls. Over most of 

 Klamath and Lake Counties it is comparatively scarce, although it is 

 locally common in the Warner Valley. It is a permanent resident of Lake, 

 Klamath, Jackson, and Josephine Counties. Oberholser (1931) set the 

 birds of this territory apart as T. b. atrestus, but as this new race has not 

 yet been passed on by the A. O. U. committee and we lack adequate 

 comparative material from California we are leaving the bird under the 

 present race. 



Bendire (1877) included a wren of this genus in his Camp Harney list 

 with the statement that it was "rather rare in this vicinity." So far as 

 we can learn no specimen was taken, so that the easternmost birds we 

 have seen are from the Warner Valley. Birds of this group appearing in 

 Burns as stragglers would probably belong in this subspecies. Wrens of 

 the genus Thryomanes were not again mentioned from this territory until 

 Oberholser (icjxoa), in his synopsis of the genus, included southern Ore- 

 gon in the range of the present form. Gabrielson (1931) listed the breed- 

 ing birds of Jackson and Josephine Counties as T. b. drymoecus, the only 

 subsequent reference to the race. 



Western Marsh Wren: 



Telmatodytes palustris plesius (Oberholser) 



DESCRIPTION. Like T. p. paludicola but upper parts paler, under parts grayer, middle 

 tail feathers heavily barred, and upper and lower tail coverts barred; paler and more 

 sharply barred than paludicola. Si^e: Wing 2.. 06, tail 1.81, bill .50. Nest: A globule 

 of tule stems and grass on the tules above the water. Eggs: 5 to 9, lavender brown. 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from central British Columbia east of Cascades 

 south to northern California, Nevada, and Colorado. Winters south into Mexico. 

 In Oregon: Common summer resident and breeding species east of Cascades. Occa- 

 sionally winters where there are open water and tules. 



THE RATTLING NOTES of the Western Marsh Wren are one of the charac- 

 teristic sounds in the great marshes of interior Oregon. This wren is 

 most abundant in Klamath, Harney, and Lake Counties but can also be 

 found in other parts of eastern Oregon wherever suitable conditions pre- 

 vail. We have specimens from Klamath, Harney, Lake, and Crook Coun- 

 ties that are all typical of this race. In addition, we have seen birds in 

 Malheur, Union, and Umatilla Counties that without doubt belong here, 

 though none were collected. 



Curiously enough the first winter record of the species is also the first 

 record for the State. Bendire (Brewer 1875) collected one, January 18, 



