74 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



of both creatures, at this unexpected meeting, were very ludi- 

 crous and yet very charming. 



NOTE. Thryothorus Ludovicianus. Great Carolina Wren. 



(Said to have occurred in Connecticut.) 



(a). Nearly six inches long. Above, reddish-brown; be- 

 neath, chiefly tawny. Superciliary stripe, white or buffy. 

 Wings, tail (and under tail-coverts?), black-barred. Wings 

 often somewhat white-spotted. 



(&). " The nest is composed of various warm materials, 

 placed in a cavity, such as the hole of a tree, or some hole in 

 a building." An egg in my collection measures about -75 X 

 55 of an inch, and is dull white, spotted somewhat coarsely 

 with obscure lilac and several rather quiet browns, which are 

 chiefly collected at the crown. 



(c). "The Great Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus Ludovici- 

 anus), so far as I know, have not previously been reported as 

 visitors to Massachusetts, but there are at present two appar- 

 ently passing the summer in a small wooded swamp near 

 Boston. It is believed that they have arrived since the fourth 

 of July, soon after which my attention was attracted by their 

 loud notes, which I immediately recognized through their gen- 

 eral likeness to the notes of other wrens, and the descriptions 

 of Wilson and Audubon. It is further believed that they are 

 now building or have recently built their nest, the female being 

 rarely seen, though the male often visits the shrubbery about 

 the house. Though unwilling that they should be shot, I have 

 no doubt as to their identity, partly on account of their music, 

 which I have never before heard, though familiar with our birds. 

 Moreover the description of the birds which I wrote on the 

 spot, where I first obtained a good view of the male, corre- 

 sponds in every important particular to the descriptions given 

 by standard authors. To facilitate the detection of these birds 

 elsewhere in Massachusetts, I offer a slight sketch of their 

 habits and notes, as just observed. 



"The Carolina Wrens, being shy, are not easily studied, for, 

 on man's approach, they often discontinue their song, and hide 

 themselves in the surrounding shrubbery, or in a neighboring 



