282 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



them utter other sound than an occasional chuckle 

 like the syllables "puiq-qudf" or a low wren-like 

 chirr, when startled or frightened. They are most 

 common in Indiana during the spring and fall migra- 

 tions, as large numbers of them spend the winter 

 farther southward, and must, therefore, pass through 

 this region on the way to and from their summer 

 homes. They nest in the pine forests of Wisconsin, 

 Michigan and British America, especially in damp, 

 swampy regions, where the ground is covered with 

 fallen trees and logs, piled upon one another and 

 covered with rich moss. 



In such a place the male is said to sing most exqui- 

 sitely, one author describing its song as : "Very lively 

 and hurried, the notes seeming to tumble over one 

 another in the energy with which the/ are poured out. 

 They are full of power, though many are shrill, and 

 are garnished with many a gay trill ; in some passages 

 reminding one of the Canary bird's song, though 

 infinitely finer." Audubon, that prince of American 

 ornithologists, appears also to have been enchanted 

 with the song as the following words will testify : 

 " The song of the little winter wren excels that of any 

 bird of its size with which I am acquainted. It is 

 truly musical, full of cadence, energetic and melodious ; 

 its very continuance is surprising, and dull indeed 

 must be the ear that thrills not on hearing it." 



The nest is placed in cavities about the roots of 

 stumps or in the tangled piles of fallen trees and 

 branches. It is composed of small twigs interwoven 

 with moss and lichens and lined with the feathers of 

 other birds or with rabbit hair which the bird has 



