58 Land Birds of New England 



reed stems, or all over their globular nests. They 

 appear among themselves to be excitable to the verge of 

 irascibility, and not seldom quite beyond such moderate 

 limit. COUES. 



The nest is hung among reeds, and the eggs are 

 laid in early June. Like many other wrens, the 

 males of this species appear to employ themselves 

 with building a succession of nests, only a few of 

 which are ever used. 



The song is said by Nuttal to be " a sort of short, 

 tremulous, and hurried warble." The first song- 

 period ends (in the neighborhood of New York) 

 early in August ; but isolated songs may be heard 

 later, and, according to Bicknell, there is reason 

 to believe that, after the wren goes south, it has 

 a second song-period. 



LITERATURE: Upland and Meadow. C. C. ABBOTT. 



14. SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN 



( Cistothorus stellar is . ) 



Upper parts in general brown ; head and back with more or less 

 black and white mottling ; wings and tail marked with black- 

 ish ; under parts grayish white in the middle, brownish on the 

 sides. Bill scarcely half as long as the head, slender ; feet pale. 

 Bird considerably less than two-thirds the size of a sparrow. 

 Sexes similar. 



THE short-billed marsh wren is to be found in 

 open swamps and meadows; but he does not, like 



