146 NOHTII AMKinCAX JMHDS. 



finer on tlie insi(U», nn<l lint'd witli vari<»ns kinds nt iininial fur -iuul witli 

 I't'iitluns. iMitli Itirds worked tom'tlit'r in ronstnuting tlieir ne-st, beiiinninii' 

 on the lltli of Ajnil, and on the 27th of the same month tliis eontained 

 seven e^Lis. The nest was in>t covered at the toj), in the manner of tlie 

 Carolina Wren. In the foUowinjj; season another i>aii' eomnieneed hnildinjjf 

 tlieir nest in his lied, in a loii-honse. Driven fr«»m tliese ini|»ossil»h' (|uarters, 

 they tried the same experinuMit in various other ]»arts (jf the liouse, l»ut (»nly 

 to ahai:d«>n it, and at hist finished Ity making a sueeessful attenijit in the 

 hay-loft. Their visits to that ]tortion of (Jeor.uia, he informed me, were 

 irregular and onlv oeeasional. In 1S.~>!) he had not met with anv birds of 

 this species for the sj»ace of iive years. 



Tlie euus measure .(57 by .')(> of an inch in their averiiiie proportions, 

 resemlilinu somewhat those of the Carolina Wren, but havin'4 a li'diter 

 j^TOund, with fewer ami finer markings of slate and reddish-brown. The 

 p'ound-color is of a ]iinkish-white. 



^Ir. A. Uoucard obtained sju'cimens of these birds in the winter months, 

 in the State of Oaxaca, Me.xico, probalily of the var. /i (trof/«{sfi r. 



We learn from Mr. IJidyway tliat in Soutliern Illinois (as far north as lati- 

 tude .*>S'' 20' 20") this Wren is very abundant, and the most familiar s]>ecies 

 of the family. In certain localities (as in the Valley of the Wabash) it 

 entirely re]»laces the 7\-(>i//oif//f<s adon, the latter beini^ wholly unknown. In 

 its habits it is even m<»re familiar than that species, always preierrin^i^ 

 the out-lmildin|L;s, even in larue towns, to the neighborlaxKl of the woods, 

 and still further increases its attractions bv i>ossessinif a charming sontr, 

 a real sony, of sweet n<»tes finely motlulated, and utliMed, generally, as 

 the bird perches up(»n a fenct; or the stable roof, its head thrown bac? 

 and its h»ng tail pemlent as it sings. The confused, gabbling s]' ter o; 

 T. (liloii, uttered as it ]>auses Just for an instant in its restless .ii>j>ping 

 through the ivy. cann(tt be compared t<» the t bant of licpiid musical notes 

 of this -jH'cies, which resembles more nearly, both in modulation and j>ower, 

 that of the Song Sparr»»w Mdospim uuUxlui), though iar su]»erior to it. 

 On ordinary occasions the note of Hewick's Wren is a soft, low yV//, \ittered 

 as the bird ho]»s about the fence or stable, its long tail carried upright, and 

 jerked to one sioe at each ho]>. In its movements it is altogether more ^ 

 dadiberate and less restless than the T. Iiidorir'nnnis, or Tnxilodi/hs (tilmi, 

 neithei" of which it much resendtles in motion, and still less in notes. The 

 nest of this Wren is usually built about the out-houses, a moitise-hok' or 

 some W(dl-conceal(Ml corner being generallv selected. Old stables and ash- 

 hop])''rs are esjteciallv fre«[uented as nestih;'^-]»lac<'s. Mr. IJidgway found one 

 in the bottom o^" the conical ]>ortion of a qanil- jet which Mas hung up in a 

 shed, and another in a j>iece oi' stove-i»i])e which lay horizontally in the gar- 

 ret of a smoke-h(»use ; another resteil u}»on a flat boanl over the do(»r of an 

 out-hous(% while a fourth \\a^ ]>laced behind the weather-boarding of a buihl- 

 ing. The nest is gener;dly very bulky, though the ladk is ii'gulated to suit 



