154 NUKTII A-MKKICAN IJlKp^. 



Dr. Coo]>ei' has .since oliseivt'd them in ralitninia, and in tlie winter, in 

 the ('(»L»ra(l(> Valh'V, where thev roo.sted at ni«dit under the eave.s of the jxar- 

 ri.son l)uihlin«,^s. Tliey make their ai»j»earance at San Franci.scn us early 

 Its March 1(>, and nest at San Dii'i^ii in Ajtril. He has found their nests 

 in huHow trees at various heii^ljts, Irom tive to hnty feet, all composed of a 

 floor and liarricade «)f long dry twigs, grass, and hark, loosely placed, but so 

 interwoven as to leave only just s[)ace for the birds to .s«pi"eze in over them. 

 They are warndy lined with a large (juanlity of feathei-s. Their eggs he 

 • dves as from tive t(» nine in number. 



The late Mr. Hepburn has furnished more full and exact information in 

 regard to this species. We give it in his own words. 



"The T. jKirhinnnni is the common wren of Vancouver Island, far more 

 so than of California, where 1 have found the IV'wick's Wren (7'. hiridii) 

 nnich more numerous. Tarkman's Wren builds its nest in hollow trees in 

 Vancouver Island, about the middle of May, forming it of small sticks laid 

 at the bottom of the hole, neatly and comfortably lining it on the inside with 

 feathers that arch over the eggs. It will also readily avail itself of any 

 similar an»i eijually convenient cavity. I have known the.st' birds to laiild 

 under the roof of a fmme house, entering by a hole between the toj)most 

 board an(^ the shingles ; also in a hole in a gate-jmst, through which gate 

 peo])le were continually passing ; and also over a doorway, getting in by a 

 loose board, in a ])lace where the nest ci>uld be readied by the hand. In 

 lSr>2 I put a cigar-box, with a hole cut in one end, Itetween the forks of a 

 tree in a garden at Victoria. A ]>air of Wrens speedily took possession of 

 it and formed their nest therein, laying seven eggs, the first on the ISth of 

 May. The eggs of this Wren are white, thickly freckled with pink spots, 

 .so much so in some specimens as to give a general j»ink a]»pearance to the 

 euy; itself, but formiui; a zone of a tinker hue near the larger end. They 

 are .HI (tf an inch in length bv .."iO in width." 



Their eggs resemble those of the T. adon so as to be hardly distinguish- 

 able, yet on comparing several sets of eacli there seem to be these constant 

 ditferences. The spots of the western species are finer, less marked, more 

 numerous, and of a pinker shade of reddish-brown. The eggs, too, range a 

 little smaller in size, though exhibiting great variations. In one nest the 

 average measurement of its seven eggs is .(10 by .50, that of another .set of 

 the same number .70 by .."*() of an inch. 



In all resjjects, habits, manners, and notes, Tarkman's Wren is a ])eHect 

 cf>unt^r[>art of the eastern House Wren. In the country east of the Sierra 

 Nevada it almost wholly replaces the western Bewick's Wren (Thr/fofliuros 

 hcn'ickii, vnY.spi/uri's), and inhabits any wooded localities, as little preference 

 being given to the cottonwoods of the river valleys as to the aspen groves 

 high up in the mountains. 



