FAMILY 



-tuntrd spruce or yellow birch pouring forth his melody 

 with lightninglike rapidity for the benefit of the world at 

 large. 



Short-billed This extremely active little Wren is, as 

 Marsh Wren some authors write, much more often heard 



Ctslothorus . 



than seen, it prefers damp meadows and 



L. 4.50 inches bops, and you cannot see it without great 

 May isth risk of wet feet and a fight with moflquitOB. 



With a secretive lit 1 le bird which dodges in and out among 

 the grasses and sedges like a frightened mou>e it is not 

 easy to obtain even a scraping acquaintance] 



The range of the Short-billed March Wren is from 

 southern Saskatchewan to southern New Hampshire. 

 thence southwestward to Delaware. Missouri, and 

 Kansas; in general it is an inhabitant of the upper Austral 

 zone. Its colors are extremely self-protective; the upper 

 parts streaked with sepia, ash white, and ocher, the head 

 with about six distinct blackish stripes, the wings and tail 

 barred, and the lower parts dull white stained on the 

 breast, sides, and under-tail with buff. Female similarly 

 marked. The nest, near the ground, is round as a ball 

 with the opening rather on the side and is built of grasses 

 lined with the cottony down of various swamp plants. 

 Egg, china white rarely with a few lavender specks. 



The snapping call note of this marsh-inhabiting Wren is 

 certainly its most familiar note; it is without musical 

 tone, and resembles the grating sound of little stones or 

 glass balls striking together. The same grating note is 

 heard in the monotonous song, though the latter in the 

 height of the nuptial season acquires something in the 

 nature of a descending trill belonging to a sparrow. The 

 more deliberate opening notes are described by some author 

 as like Chap-chap-chap but these are absolutely toneless; 

 the rest of the song is erratic but somewhat musical, though 

 I can promise nothing for accuracy in pitch: 



Ch*p, chip, chap, fh^p t ch^p 



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