THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



23 



the finch family with the yellow-hammer or 

 gold-finch. The song of the latter has more 

 variety, sweetness, and expression; that of the 

 other, more power and volubility, few native 

 birds rivalling him in rapidity of execution. The 

 goldfinch is the more artistic and although un- 

 affected in manner, seems thoroughly to enjoy 

 his own music; the linnet seems to take pleasure 

 less in the result ot his efforts than in the efforts 

 themselves. The music is in him; it must come 

 out; and the time is short! His tones are musical 

 but the song expresses eagerness and haste and 

 in its rhythm and sentiment may be interpreted 

 thus: — " What a hurry I'm in, what a hurry I'm 

 in, O dear, O dear! What a hurry I'm in, O 

 dear, dear, dear! What a hurry I'm in, O dear!" 

 The linnet's favorite perch is the tree-top yet 

 he often sings at his best while flying. In his 



THE MARSH WRENS. 



BY GEO. M. LESLIE, HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA. 



Curious little fellows, are Cisthorus stellaris 

 and C. palustris. Their pretty little eggs, cur- 

 ious nests and low, bright call, make them ob- 

 jects of interest for the naturalist, and, indeed, 

 every close observer. 



The long-billed marsh wren is the most com- 

 mon of the two, breeding abundantly in most 

 salt and freshwater marshes in Eastern North 

 America. 



The nest is globular, composed of rushes very 

 compactly woven together and in some cases 

 plastered with mud. The nest, when new, looks 

 like a ball of moss, for many of the rushes of 



which it is composed are not broken off but 

 most impassioned moments, as Wilson Flagg I merely bent down and woven in. The opening 

 tells us, " He will rise suddenly into the air and which is at the side, is often quite difficult to 



poising himself pour out a flood of melody." I 

 have never beheld this climax but I have some- 

 times heard a song, the singer being invisible, 

 which may have been the one to which Mr. 

 Flagg refers. On these occasions, the usual 

 song nearly doubled in length and uttered with 

 exceptional rapidity and fervor, was interspersed 

 with long sHdes or double inflections, as though 

 the singer were so nearly breathless with ardor 

 that he could recover himself only by these long 

 sighs of inexpressible rapture. 



The finch is faithful to his domestic duties 

 yet when their day is over, he joins a flock of 

 his kind and spends the remainder of the year 

 in bachelor gayety and freedom. A call note 

 of several syllables, often uttered at this time, 

 is very sweet and clear.- Like the other finches, 

 this species is a hardy bird and in mild seasons 

 he not unfrequently winters in Massachusetts 

 especially in the vicinity of Boston, a fact to 

 ivhich Mr. Longfellow has borne testimony: — 

 "The purple finch 



That on wild cherry and red cedar feeds, 



A winter bird, comes with its plaintive whistle. 



And pecks by the witch-hazel." 



That, to my thinking, is the real tour of dis- 

 :overy wherein one keeps to the beaten road, 

 looks at the customary sights, but brings home 

 I new idea. — Torrey. 



find and is so small that it is impossible to tell 

 if there are any eggs in the nest without enlarg- 

 ing the hole at least a little. 



The eggs are small, the average size being 

 about .65 X .45 of an inch. They are generally 

 so thickly covered with spots of brown that the 

 ground color, which is variable, is hidden and 

 they appear to be of a chocolate brown. 



This species is very common near this city, 

 breeding abundantly in a large marsh ( Dundas 

 Marsh) and in reedy inlets about Hamilton Bay. 

 In any of these marshes, on a summer day, they 

 are always to be seen hanging on the reeds, and, 

 with their tails almost at right angles to their 

 bodies, warbling their call which to me is 

 always associated with a marsh. 



The short-billed marsh wren, unlike the other, 

 must be considered a rather rare bird though it 

 breeds abundantly in Manitoba. In general 

 appearance it is the same as palustris which it 

 closely resembles in habits. The nest is I think 

 identical with that of palustris except that mud 

 is never used in its construction. 



The eggs are about the same size as those of 

 palustris but are pure white and spotless. An 

 egg before me, which, I think, was taken at 

 Long Point Island, Lake Erie, measures about 

 .68X.47 of an inch. 



Both of these species have the habit of build- 

 ing several nests, only one of which they use to 



