THE WRENS 



(Family Troglodytidae) 



BY A. A. ALLEN, PH. D. 

 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ORNITHOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



AGES ago there dwelt in northern Africa and along 

 " the Red Sea certain tribes of men known as the 

 Troglodytes. They were herdsmen, living entirely 

 upon flesh, and they made their homes in caverns which 

 the ancien't sea' had gnawed into the rocks. They were 

 hole-dwellers. This alone could have prompted the name 

 of Troglodytidae for the great family of wrens, for surely 

 there is no other comparison between these prehistoric, 

 carnivorous shepherds and the little energetic brown birds 

 which compose the wren family. But Troglodytidae they 

 were christened, ^because of their hole-nestirg habits, and 

 by that name shall they always be known. 



There are about 260 different kinds of wrens, the 

 majority being found in the tropics of South and Central 

 America. Between thirty and forty are found in the Old 

 World and only fourteen in the United States and Canada. 



PETULANT, INQUISITIVE, MISCHIEVOUS BUT A GOOD FRIEND 



JUST THE SAME 



The house wren the commonest and most widespread of all the wrens is fond 



of human habitations and quick to avail himself of nesting boxes or crannies 

 about the porch. 



In spite of their numbers, they are remarkably uni- 

 form in plumage, wearing browns and grays in very in- 

 conspicuous patterns. They are, with few exceptions, 

 ' very small birds, seldom exceeding five or six inches in 

 length, with rounded wings and short tails, which they 

 characteristically hold erect or even tilt forward over the 

 back. Their small, plump, brown bodies and their habit 

 of haunting brush piles or sneaking along the ground 



give them an exceedingly mouse-like appearance. In 

 fact, were it not for their inquisitive ways and their petu- 

 lant voices, wrens would seldom be seen; but as it is, 

 one cannot pass their retreats without being surveyed 



GUARDING THE MARSHES 



Short-billed marsh wrens would seldom be seen if they were content to creep 

 around the tangled sedges, as is their usual habit but at anyone's approach 

 they -climb the tallest reed in the vicinity and rebuke him for venturing into the 

 marsh. 



from every side and without being the target for their 

 loud, fretful calls. 



When not alarmed, the male seeks some exposed 

 perch, where, with drooi^ing tail, he gives vent to his 

 exuberance in a voice of surprising volume and sweet- 

 ness, for, with the exception of the cactus wrens, the 

 whole wren family is famous for the brilliancy of its 

 songs. Even the familiar loud, bubbling, gurgling song 

 of the house wren sinks into insignificance when compared 

 with the bold, ringing songs of the Carolina and canyon 

 wrens or the roundelay of the winter wren. As with 

 most birds, the song is usually confined to the male, but 

 certain tropical species have the delightful habit of sing- 

 ing in duet. L. A. Fuertes, the well-known bird artist, 

 in some pleasing essays entitled "Impressions of the 

 Voices of Tropical Birds," gives us a vivid picture of 

 these birds in action : 



" This counter-singing by the female, so far as I am 

 aware, is not generally known among birds, but it is cer- 



419 



