Family Troglodytidce Winter Wren 59 



the long-billed, frequent reed-flats. He is to be 

 distinguished from the long-billed chiefly by his 

 smaller size and his shorter bill. The habits of 

 the two are much alike, save that the short-billed 

 is shyer, and is said not to live in colonies. For 

 a fuller account the reader is referred to the 

 description just preceding this one. The bird 

 comes to us about the middle of May, and leaves 

 about the end of September. 



The nest is placed on the ground in a tuft of 

 grass in a swamp. Eggs are laid in early June. 



The song is much like that of the long-bill. 



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



15. WINTER WREN (Troglodytes hiemalis.) 



Upper parts brown, obscurely marked with dusky ; throat, breast, 

 and middle of belly whitey-brown obscurely mottled ; sides of 

 belly and crissum dark brown mottled with white. Beak 

 slender, upper mandible dark, lower one pale ; feet brown ; tail 

 much shorter than outstretched legs. Bird about half the length 

 of a sparrow. Sexes similar. 



THIS little creature, the smallest of our wrens, and 

 almost the smallest of our birds, is generally to be 

 seen here only in April, October, and November, on 

 his way to and from his northern breeding-ground, 

 although he summers at a few places in Massachu- 

 setts. He usually travels alone, and frequents woods 



