54 CAROLINA WREN 



are quiet, even occasionally in winter. In the great 

 .blizzard of 1895, when the storm was at its height, 

 Mr. Ridgway heard the loud, ringing voice of a Caro- 

 lina Wren. 



One of his common songs is a whistling whcc-o-lcc, 

 three or 'four times repeated, the accent either on the 

 first or last syllable. Sometimes only two notes arc 

 heard, whcc-o, when it sounds like a Cardinal's call. 

 He also occasionally gives a varied performance re- 

 sembling a Mockingbird's, from which he is named 

 Mocking Wren. He lives in woods bordering 

 streams, and is abundant all along Rock Creek and 

 the Potomac. 



While one may usually hear the Carolina, finding 

 him is quite another matter. He seems to delight in 

 playing hide-and-seek with the observer, keeping 

 warily to the opposite side of a tree or stump, and 

 flying entirely away if too closely pursued. .Look 

 for him in wild, secluded places; on fallen trees, about 

 old logs and stumps, and under turf which overhangs 

 small streams. When you catch sight of him you 

 will be astonished that so great a voice can belong to 

 so small a bird, for he is but little larger than the 

 House Wren and much resembles him, his distin- 

 guishing marks being the white line over the eye, the 

 more rusty back, and buffy under parts. The nest is 

 usually in a hole in a stump or log, and is built of 

 grasses, moss, feathers and hair. The eggs, 6 to 7, 

 are white, with lavender markings. 



