380 THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC. 



out involuntarily exclaiming, " What a magnificent performance ! " 

 Nevertheless, there is a certain consciousness and lack of spontaneity 

 about it which makes it appeal to the mind rather than to the 

 heart. 



718. Thryothorus ludovicianus (Za^.). CAROLINA WREN. (See 

 Fig. 55, c.) Ad. Upper parts rufous-brown; feathers of the rump with con- 

 cealed downy white spots; a long, conspicuous whitish line over the eye; 

 wings and tail rufous-brown, finely barred with black ; under parts ochra- 

 ceous-butf or cream-buff, whiter on the throat; flanks sometimes with a few 

 blackish bars. L., 5-50 ; W., 2-30 ; T., 2'00 ; B., -60. 



Range. Eastern United States ; breeds from the Gulf States to southern 

 Iowa, northern Illinois, and southern Connecticut ; resident, except at the 

 northern limit of its range. 



Washington, common P. E. 



N&st, bulky, of grasses, feathers, leaves, etc., lined with finer grasses, long 

 hairs, etc., in holes in trees .or stumps, nooks and crevices about buildings, 

 etc. Eggs, four to six, white or creamy white, with numerous cinnamon-, 

 rufous-brown, and lavender markings, sometimes wreathed about the larger 

 end, -75 x -58. 



The cozy nooks and corners about the home of man which prove 

 so attractive to the House Wren have no charms for this bird. His 

 wild nature demands the freedom of the forests, and he shows no dis- 

 position to adapt himself to new conditions. Undergrowths near 

 water, fallen tree tops, brush heaps, and rocky places in the woods 

 where he can dodge in and out and in a twinkling appear or disap- 

 pear, like a feathered Jack-in-the-box, are the resorts he chooses. 



The nervous activity so characteristic of all Wrens reaches in him 

 its highest development. Whatever he may be when alone, he is never 

 at rest so long as he imagines himself observed. Now he is on this 

 side of us, now on that : a moment later, on a stump before us, bob- 

 bing up and down and gesticulating wildly with his expressive 

 tail; but as a rule he is seldom in sight more than a second at a 

 time. 



Of course, so excitable a nature must find other than physical out- 

 let for his irrepressible energy, and he accompanies his movements by 

 more or less appropriate notes : scolding cacks, clinking, metallic rat- 

 tles, musical trills, tree-toadlike krrrwgs in fact, he possesses an 

 almost endless vocabulary. He is sometimes called Mocking Wren, 

 but the hundreds of birds I have heard were all too original to borrow 

 from others. In addition to his peculiar calls he possesses a variety of 

 loud, ringing whistles, somewhat similar in tone to those of the Tufted 

 Titmouse or Cardinal, and fully as loud as if not louder than the notes 

 of the latter. The more common ones resemble the syllables whee-udel, 

 whee-udel, whee-udel, and tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle. 



