204 WEENS AND THRASHERS 



these stilt-houses, and the added pleasure of see- 

 ing them bring out a brood of chattering brown 

 mites upon the world of marsh. If all their nine 

 eggs hatch, surely they will be kept busy hunting 

 food for the hungry little folk ! But they are 

 quite equal to the task. Along the southern 

 coasts where the rice grows, they take the oppor- 

 tunity to pick up the destructive weevils that 

 feed upon it, and wherever they are they busy 

 themselves hunting out the small worms of the 

 earth that cumber the ground ; for that is a trait 

 of the Wren family. 



This particular Wren will never be mistaken 

 for any of his kin, for the black diamond on his 

 back labels him as well as if he were marked 

 with indelible ink. The rest of the family stand 

 pretty much by their own colors, too. The Caro- 

 lina and Winter Wrens are mainly birds of the 

 woods the Carolina of the south, the Winter 

 of the north. The Carolina Wren has a heavy 

 white line over the eye ; the Winter Wren lacks 

 this, but is easily distinguished by its abbreviated 

 tail, bent at an angle over its back. The House 

 Wren and Bewick's are more similar in habit, 

 being familiar door-yard birds ; but Bewick's, the 

 more southern of the two, has longer wings and 

 tail, and a diagnostic white line over the eye. 



As a family (see Figs. 126-132, p. 207) the 

 Wrens belong with the three songful cousins, 

 the Catbird, Thrasher, and Mockingbird, and the 



