

380 



THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC. 



I 



I: 



•I 



out involuntarily excluiming, " What a magnificent performance ! " 

 Nevertheless, there is a certain consciousness and lack of spontaneity 

 about it which makes it appeal to the mind rather than to the 

 heart. 



718. Thryothorus ludovlcian«» ( Lnth.). Carolina Wkkn. (See 

 Fig. .'»"), c'.j Ad. — Lppir luuts rutuus-biowu ; feutliers of the rump witli cou- 

 conled dotrtiy white spots; u long, conspicuous whitisli line over tlic eye; 

 wings uiid tuil rufous-brown, finely burred with black ; under parts ocliru- 

 ceou.^-buti' or cream-butf, whiter on the throat; flunks soinetiaies with a few 

 blackish bars. L., 5-50; W., a-30; T., 2-00; B., 60. 



liaiige. — Eastern United States ; breeds from the Gulf States to southern 

 Iowa, nortlieru Illinois, and southern Connecticut; resident, except at the 

 nortliern limit of its range. 



VVa.-ihington, conmion P. R. 



^ViA<, bulky, of grussef", feuthers, leaves, etc., lined with finer grasses, long 

 hairs, etc., in holes in trees or stumps, nooks and crevices about buildings, 

 etc. I'-'ijg"-, four to si.\, white or creamy white, witii numerous cinnamon-, 

 rufous-brown, and lavender markings, sometimes wreathed about the larger 

 enil, '"to X "oS. 



The cozy nooks and corners about the home of man which prove 

 so attractive to the House Wren have no charms for tliis bird. His 

 wild nature demands the freedom of the fcrests, and he shows no dis- 

 position to adapt himself to new conditions. Undergrowtlis near 

 water, fallen tree tops, brush lieaps, and rocky places in the woods 

 where he can dodge in and out and in a twinkling appear or disap- 

 pear, like a feathered Jack-in-the-box, are the resorts he chooses. 



Tlie nervous activity so characteristic of all Wrens reaches in him 

 its highest development. Wliatcver he may be when ahme, he is never 

 at rest so long as he imiigines himself oVtserved. Now he is on this 

 side of us, now on that : a moment later, on a stump before us, bob- 

 bing up and down and gesticulating wildly with his expressive 

 tail ; but as a rule he is seldom in sight more than a second at a 

 time. 



Of course, so excitable a nature must find other than physical out- 

 let for his irrepressible energy, and lie accompanies his movements by 

 more or less appropriate notes: scolding cavks, clinking, metallic rat- 

 tles, musical trills, tree-toadlike krrrhigs — in fact, he possesses an 

 ahnost ondless vocabulary. He is sometimes called Mocking Wren, 

 but the hundreds of birds I have heard were all too original to lM)rrow 

 from others. In additi(m to his peculiar calls he possesses a variety of 

 loud, ringing whistles, somewhat similar in tone to those of the Tufted 

 Titmou.se or Cardinal, and fully as loud as if not louder than the notes 

 of the latter. The more common ones resemble the syllables ichee-udel, 

 whee-udel, ivhee-udel, and tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle. . , 



