18 BULLETIN 2 



are giving forth constantly their sweet carols of joy, praise, 

 and "gladness, and I think also, if we interpret their songs 

 aright they are inviting the members of the Vermont Bird 

 Club to study their habits more fully and carefully, to pro- 

 tect them more thoroughly, and to love them more deeply. 



NESTING OF THE WINTER WREN. 



Troglodytes hiemalis. 

 G. H. ROSS. 



The winter wren occurs during the breeding season from 

 Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on the east to 

 Manitoba on the west and south to Massachusetts and 

 central New York, though along the mountains it is found 

 through Pennsylvania, .Virginia. W. Virginia to North 

 North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Indiana and Central 

 Iowa are its western limits. 



The winter wren breeds generally throughout Vermont 

 in suitable localities. In and around Rutland they are found 

 from 600 feet up. As there is a greater quantity of suitable 

 cover in the mountain towns they are more plentiful there. 

 Any good sized bit of lowland swamp or wet woodland 

 containing a number of upturned roots is pretty certain to 

 harbor a pair. 



Until the past spring though I had searched a number of 

 times I had never seen a nest, though several hours at a time 

 had been put in watching individual birds during the breed- 

 ing season chasing them around, and examining stumps, 

 trees, roots, etc. 



On May 21st, 1906, a friend and myself started to ascend 

 Shrewsbury mountain, one of the three high peaks about ten 

 miles east of Rutland. It was also the intention to keep 

 watch for winter wrens as the territory was such that they 

 would be plentiful. During the first part of the trip up the 

 mountain several were heard, but no stop was made as the 

 mountain was to be climbed first and any remaining time 

 given to the wrens. 



However, coming at length to a cluster of half a dozen 

 upturned tree roots, we decided to examine them. From 

 one of them out popped a wren. Surely here was a nest, 

 but a most careful search failed to discover it. The bird 

 lingering near, was watched for sime time but with no 

 result. Finally, my companion called me to him. There in a 

 large upturned spruce root near him was a nest. It was 



