JFor Ceact)er£ ant) i^tutiente 



How to Name the Birds 



STUDIES OF THE FAMILIES OF PASSERES 

 BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



SIXTH PAPER 



Family 14. Wrens, Thrashers, Etc. Troglodytid.ee. 



Range. — The Wrens (subfamily Troglodytince) number some 150 spe- 

 cies, all but a dozen of which are confined to the western hemisphere, 

 where they are distributed from Patagonia to Labrador and Alaska. Four- 

 teen species inhabit America north of Mexico, eight of these occurring east 

 of the Mississippi. 



The Thrashers (subfamily Mimines) number some 50 species and are 

 confined to America. Eleven species inhabit the United States, of which 

 only three, the Brown Thrasher, Catbird and Mockingbird, are found east 

 of the Mississippi. 



Season. — Our Wrens, with the exception of the Carolina Wren and 

 Bewick's Wren, are migratory. One species, the Winter Wren, comes 

 from the north in the fall, reaching the latitude of New York city about 

 September 22 and remaining until April; the others come from the south, 

 appearing late in April and early in May and leaving us in October. 



The Mockingbird is migratory only at the northern limit of its range; 

 our other representatives of the Miminte, the Thrasher and Catbird, are 

 both migratory, coming late in April and remaining until October. 



Color. — Shades of brown and gray are the characteristic colors of the 

 Wrens and Thrashers, as they are of most brush- and thicket -haunting 

 birds. With the Wrens fine black markings are common; with the 

 Thrashers and Mockers solid colors prevail. 



External Structure. — Although differing so markedly in general appear- 

 ance (compare a House Wren and Brown Thrasher, for example), the 

 Wrens and Thrashers possess many points of structure in common, and 

 when some of the larger tropical Wrens are examined their resemblance to 

 the Thrashers is obvious. Both Wrens and Thrashers have scaled tarsi, 

 rounded or graduated tails, the outer feathers being, as a rule, much the 

 shortest, and the outer primary is about half as long as the longest. 



Appearance and Habits. — The nervous, excitable manner of our House 

 Wren and its habit of holding the tail erect or even pointing toward its 

 head, is characteristic of most of the members of this group, though with 

 the largest Wrens the tail is not held upright. With the Thrashers and 



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