100 



N'OltTII AMKIilCAX HIUDS. 



Cistof/ion/s pnfif^tris. 



I'liiviiicfs, and IVdiu tlic Atlantii; to the ri)por ^rissduri. Ft is nowliero 

 alimidaiit, ami in many large portions of intervening territory has never 

 l)een i'ound. 



It is exclusively uu inhabitant of low, iV(>sli-water marshes, opi-n swamps, 



and meadows, is never t'onnd on high 

 • ground, and is very shy and ditlicult of 

 ai)proaeh. It makes its first appearance 

 in Massachusetts early in May, and leaves 

 early in Se]>tend)er. In winter it has 

 heen found in all the (iulf Slates, from 

 Florida to Texas. 



A(^cording to Nuttall, thisAVrcn lias a 

 lively and quaint song, delivered ear- 

 nestly and as if in haste, and at short 

 intervals, either from a tuft of sedge or 

 from a low hush on the edge of a marsh. 

 When ajiproached, the song becomes 

 harsher and more hurried, and rises 

 info an angry and petulant cry. In the early p.art of the .sea,son the male is 

 (luite lively and nuisical. These Wrens spend their time chiefly in the long, 

 raidx grass of the swami)s and meadows searching for insects, their favorite 

 food. 



Their nest is constructeil in th(> midst of a tiis.soek of coarse high grass, 

 the tops of which are ingeniously interwoven into a I'oarse and strong cover- 

 ing, s])herical in shape, and elo.sed on every side, except one snuill aperturo 

 left for an entrance. Thi; strong wiry gra.>*s of tli tussock is also interwoven 

 with finer matiM'ials, making the whole impervious to the weather. The 

 iimer nest is coniiiosed of grasses and finer .sedges, and lim^d with soft, vc'e- 

 table down. The eggs are nine mi numlpcr, \m\v white, and rather small for 

 the bird. Tiiey are e.\ceedingly delicate and fragile, more .so than is usual 

 even in the eggs of Ilunnning-I!irds. They are of an oval shape, and measure 

 .(ill liy A'l of an inch. 



•Mr. Nuttall conjectured that occasionally two females occupied the same 

 nest, and states that he has known the male binl to liu.sy itself in construct- 

 ing .several nests, not more than one of which would be used. .\s these birds 

 rear a second brood, ii is probable that these nests are built from an in- 

 stinctive desire to have a new one in readiness for the second brood. This 

 peculiarity has beiui uotieed in otiier Wrens, where the female sometimes 

 takes jKtssession of the new abode, lays and sits upon her second set of eggs 



before her first bi d are ready to fly, which are left to the charge of her 



mate. 



Mr. .'.udnlion found this Wren breeding in Texa.s. Dr. Tnulean met them 

 tm the marshes of tlu' i)elaware 1 fiver, and their nest and eggs have been 

 sent to us from (he Koskonong marshes (»f Wisconsin. It has also been foinid 



