160 



THE OOLOGIST 



found a wren's nest in a privy that 

 stood in the rear of a church build- 

 ing. I at once went to the place, and 

 sure enough, there in the corner of the 

 hollow eave, I found the nest. It was 

 made of bark strips, weed stalks, 

 roots and moss, and was warmly lin- 

 ed with hair. It held five pretty fresh 

 eggs which I collected and now have 

 in my posession. These five eggs are 

 speckled and spotted chiefly about the 

 larger ends with light reddish-brown 

 and lilac. A number of pin-point dots 

 cover the remaining shell surface. 

 The eggs measure: .73 x .60, .75 x .60, 

 .74x.60, .75x.61, .72 x .62. 



One morning late in June, 1909, as 

 I was picking my way over the rough 

 stony mountain side which bordered 

 the Cheat River of Northern West 

 Virginia, I chanced to find a small 

 shingle shed which had some time 

 since been constructed by lumbermen. 

 Upon entering this shed I was greet- 

 ed by a fine sight. There in a small 

 pot-hole on the side of a huge rock 

 which formed one side of the shed, 

 rested a Carolina Wren's nest, with 

 the bird at home on five incubated 

 eggs. She made a great fuss when I 

 caused her to flush from it; but in 

 spite of her outcries I collected the 

 five eggs and they now adorn my ser- 

 ies of eggs of Thryomanes 1. ludovicia- 

 nus. 



Several nests of this species that I 

 examined held eggs of the cowbird 

 Molathnusater. A nest found April 

 22, 1905, was built behind some over- 

 hanging sod, in a bank bordering a 

 public road. It was composed of moss, 

 weedstrips, leaves, weeds, and dry 

 grass, and was lined with hair. The 

 bird laid but three eggs when a Cow- 

 bird deposited one of hers. These 

 eggs were sprinkled over the entire 

 shell surface with dots of a reddish 

 tinge. April 24, I found a nest built 

 in a depression of the sod, at the base 



of an apple sprout, which grew on a 

 bank at the roadside. The female 

 incubated three eggs of her own and 

 one of the Cowbird's. Some years lat- 

 er two more nests of this wren, con- 

 taining eggs of the Cowbird, came un- 

 der my observation. 



I have known of six nests which 

 held sets of six eggs each. One found 

 by a boy, in May, 1905, and brought 

 to me, was built in the corner of a 

 small shed that stood by a public road- 

 side. June 17, of the same year, a. 

 boy living near the creek which flows 

 past the lower part of town, showed 

 me a nest in a privy that stood on a 

 creek bank. The bird was incubating 

 six eggs. These I collected and have 

 in my series. They are heavily mark- 

 ed specimens, being well spotted with 

 reddish brown over the entire shell 

 surface. May 21, 1906 I discovered 

 a nest and six eggs in the sod bank 

 above some outcropping sandrocks. 

 The nest was principally of green 

 moss, and was lined with strips of 

 grape vine bark and soft hair. The 

 bird was quite pugnacious at my pres- 

 ence and made a great fuss when I 

 collected her treasures. These eggs 

 were lightly marked with spots and 

 specks of brown and lavender. 



Early in April, 1908, I found a Wren 

 building in a depression at the base 

 of an American elm (Ulmus ameri- 

 cana) sprout on a bank at roadside, 

 and high up on a hill. April 19 it held 

 six lovely eggs which were finely dec- 

 orated with spots and wreaths of 

 light reddish-brown and lavender. The 

 eggs of the Carolina Wren offer such 

 variation in markings, size and shape 

 that they are quite desirable for ser- 

 ies, making an attractive exhibit. The 

 markings range from light reddish- 

 brown through lilac and lavender. 

 The average measurement of a num- 

 ber of specimens is: .74 x .60 inches. 



