162 NORTH AMKKICAN JilliDS. 



Tlie ditt'ereiices betwet-n thl^'<e two mces is iniicli more appreciable than 

 tliose between Trwilndutes (rtlon and 1\ *' pKrk/na /mi" ; the must striking 

 chameter is the much k)nLi:er bill of the var. iKilnstrU. 



Specimens of the var. palHilintIo from the interior are ])aler and more 

 • Tavish-brown alK»ve, and have h^ss distinct bai*s on the tail-coverts and tail, 

 than in Pacitic coast specimens, while on the crown the brown, instead of 

 the black, largely predomiu.ites. 



Habits. The common ^Marsh Wren ap])ears to have a nearly unrestricted 

 range throughout North America. It occurs on the AtLmtic coast from ^las- 

 sachusetts to Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and as tar north 

 as Washington Territory on the west coast. A single specimen was procured 

 in (ireenland. It is not, however, at all common in these more northern 

 latitudes. Mr. Drummiuid, of Sir John Iiichardscn's ]»arty, met with it in 

 the ooth pamllel on the eastern declivity of the IJocky Mountains and in the 

 Saskatchewan Vallev. Dr. CV)o])er found it earlv in ^larch in the salt marshes 

 along the coast of Washington Territory, and tlunks it winters in that section. 

 On the Eastern coast it is not common as far north as Massachusetts, a few 

 being found at CVnnbridge and in I5arnstable ( 'ounty. It is abundant near 

 Washington, I). C, and throughout the country in all suitable locations south 

 and west from Pennsylvania. Mr. Pidgway found it plentiful in Utah. 



They frequent low marshy grounds, whether near the sea or in the inte- 

 rior, and builu in low bushes, a few feet from the ground, a well-cf»nstructed 

 globular nest. On the Potomac, wliere the river is subject to irregular tides, 

 they are generally not less than five feet from the ground. 



These uests are nearly spherical, and both in size and shape resemble a 

 cocoanut. Thev are made externallv of coarse sedges tirndv interwoven, 

 the intei^tices being cemented with chiy or nnul, and are impervious to 

 the weather. A small round orifice is left on one side for entrance, the up- 

 per side of wliich is also protected from the rain l)y a ]>rojecting edge. The 

 inside is lined with fine gmsses, feathers, the down of the silk-weed, and 

 other soft and Marni vewtable substances. These birds arrive in the Middle 

 States early in May and leave early in Se})tember. Tliey have two broods 

 in the season, and each time construct and occupy a new nest. 



Audubon describes its nest as built among sedges, and as usually partly 

 constructed of the sedges among which the nest is built. This is the usual 

 manner in which the V. sfelhris builds its nest, but I have never kiiown 

 one of the present s])ecies building in this manner, and in the localities in 

 Mhich they la-eed, near the coast, being subject to irregular lieights of tides, 

 it could not be done with safety. 



The note of the Marsh Wren is a low, hai*sh, grating cry, neither hnul nor 

 musical, and n'ore resembling the noise of an insect than the vocal utter- 

 ances of a bird. 



Their food consists chietly of small atjuatic insects, nunute nitdlusks, 

 and the like, and thes*^ they are very expert in securing. 



