THE CAROLINA WREN. 155 



ing exceptionally warm and sunny days it made frequent 

 visits to a wooded slope near by, and there, among the 

 giant oaks and chestnuts, it seemed more lively and full 

 of song than when nearer home. 



A few words with reference to the character of its 

 song. Every utterance is sharply defined by a peculiar- 

 ity that belongs only to this bird. I think I should know 

 the bird by its voice wherever I might hear it. 



Again, while the bird has a great variety of notes, I 

 believe I have never heard it mingle these various utter- 

 ances. It may chance to whistle jimmee or tsau-re-ta or 

 phoe-dO) but it never follows one with the other. It is 

 in all cases a repetition of the notes it first utters. Thus 

 I once recorded its song as uttered during ten minutes. 

 Its notes then were phoedo, phoe-do, phoe-do phee ! with 

 a rest of some five to ten seconds then repeated ; and 

 this continued without any variation until the notes as 

 here given had been uttered sixty-four times. As the 

 bird was about commencing the sixty-fifth repetition it 

 was frightened and flew off. A half hour later the bird 

 took up its position on a hop-vine pole and sang the 

 notes represented by the syllables tsavrre-ta forty-seven 

 times, with intervals of about five seconds between each 

 utterance. 



I find it very generally stated that this wren is a 

 "mocker," imitating many of our common songsters. 

 Evidences of this have never come under my notice. 

 Carefully as I have listened to this wren for a year, I have 

 never heard a note that I should consider as not its own, 

 and not borrowed. It is not safe, however, to conclude 

 that it does not mimic other birds, because the one I have 

 studied failed to do so. One's observations must cover a 

 wider range of territory, and extend over many years, be- 

 fore it is safe to be positive in the matter of the habits 



