HOUSE WEEN 557 



The Western House Wren arrives within its nesting range on the west 

 slope of the mountains rather early in the season. The species was found 

 to be already well established at El Portal upon our visit to that place on 

 April 27, 1916. East of the Sierras it was not noticed until May 9 (1916). 

 The latest fall record on the west slope above the Upper Sonoran Zone is 

 for September 15 (1917), in Yosemite Valley (Mailliard, 1918, p. 19) ; while 

 one of our party saw an individual bird on the east slope near Williams 

 Butte on September 22, 1915. In Yosemite Valley the House Wren 

 appeared in 1920 on July 30, and thereafter the species was noted on 

 August 18 and 27 and on September 4 and 6 and 26 to 28, in the same year 

 (C.W.Michael, MS). 



Of the wrens found in the Yosemite region the House Wren is next 

 to the smallest in size. Its coloration is plain brown, only slightly paler 

 below than above, and the bird has no white line over the eye or other 

 contrasted markings of any sort. (See pi. 54.) The Winter Wren is 

 more chunkily built, w^th a much shorter tail, and warmer tone of colora- 

 tion; and the San Joaquin (Bewick) Wren is larger, more whitish beneath, 

 and has a white stripe over the eye. The Canon and Rock wrens are 

 enough larger as not to be confused with the House Wren. 



Few birds sing more persistently during a brief period in the spring 

 than the Western House Wren. The song is a series of burred warbling 

 notes, uttered so fast as to defy imitation, and is repeated at frequent 

 intervals. One individual studied at El Portal on April 27, 1916, was 

 giving songs each of which lasted from 2 to 3 seconds, and a new song 

 was commenced every 4 to 6 seconds. The general pitch of each song is 

 about the same throughout, but the intensity weakens at the end. There 

 are none of the clear notes heard in the song of the San Joaquin Wren. 

 When singing, the male House Wren usually perches well above the 

 ground, but still considerably beneath the crown-foliage of the tree in 

 which it happens to be. The song perch is usually situated within a 

 few feet of the nest site. The call note is a rather harsh scold, sometimes 

 repeated rapidly several times. 



The name House Wren implies, correctly, that this bird (and more 

 especially the eastern race) has, with the advent of civilization, taken to 

 nesting about dwellings. Throughout its range the species is noted for 

 making iise of any cavity, natural or artificial, which is suited to its 

 needs with respect to size of entrance hole and to interior dimensions. 



On the east side of the mountains, in 1916, Mr. Dixon found 3 nests 

 of this wren. The first, discovered on June 2, at about 7300 feet altitude 

 near Williams Butte, was in an old nest hole of the Red-shafted Flicker 

 3 feet above the ground in a dead aspen. (See pi. 54a.) On this date the 

 birds were carrying nest material in the form of small sticks. Trips were 



