THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



Vol. 1. No. 10. GAINES, N. Y., FEB., 1885. 



Published Monthly' 

 60c. Per Year. 



Nesting of the Winter Wren. 



Why this species is called the Winter 

 Wren seems somewhat strange, as, in Can- 

 ada at least, it is very seldom ever seen or 

 heard during the winter season, though in 

 the latitude of Philadelphia some speci- 

 mens may be commonly met with at thai 

 period of the year, but with the return of 

 spring it is one of the earliest of our visit- 

 ants to cheer the wild, swampy woods with 

 its gladsome lays. The term Wood Wren 

 would, I think, be more appropriate than 

 the name it bears, as in contra distinction 

 to its congener, the House Wren, it is ex- 

 clusively a woodland bird. From early in 

 April until mid-summer its cheery notes 

 are constantly heard in the wild lowland 

 woods where it makes its summer home, 

 though with the exception of its notes the 

 student of nature often has little evidence 

 of its existence, for as soon as it becomes 

 awai'e of the presence of man it immedi- 

 ately seeks concealment among the fallen 

 timber and tangled brushwood surrounding- 

 its nesting-place, at the same time uttering 

 a few disconcerted notes. From my early 

 childhood I have been a resident of the 

 Canadian backwoods, and often when out 

 in the pathless forest 1 have listened with 

 delight to the thrilling music of this wood- 

 land ranger, though for many years I was 

 ignorant of the little performer and its af- 

 finity to the House Wren, which was 

 among the most familiar of our feathered 

 friends that annually made their homes 

 around our dwelling. When I was about 

 fourteen years of age, one summer day I 

 was in hunt of cattle along the margin of 

 the creek that bore the Indian name of Can- 

 a-ca-jig. Passing a place where there was 

 still indications of once being an Indian 

 encampment I noticed that a large maple 

 tree had fallen across the stream, and that 

 in its fall it had drawn up with it« roots a 



large piece of earth which, hanging down- 

 ward, formed a kind of wigwam. Into 

 this I entered, supposing it to be the nest- 

 ing-place of a Pewee or a Jinco. As I did 

 so and began to look around in the gloomy 

 light, a, little dark bird flew past my face, 

 and which from the glimpse that I got of 

 it, and its notes, I identified as the species 

 then known to me as the Wood Wren. I 

 soon discovei'ed the nest, placed in a small 

 cavity, built externally of moss in the form 

 of a ball, with a small hole in the side. 

 Putting my finger into the nest I found that 

 it contained a number of eggs. Some of 

 the eggs I took out in order to see their 

 color and count their number. I found 

 that there were eight eggs in the nest, of a 

 pure white color with reddish dots toward 

 the large end. or much like those of the 

 Black-capped Chick-a-dee in size and mark- 

 ing. Some days after I looked at the nest 

 again and found that ii contained young. 

 This was the first nest of this species, with 

 eggs, that I had seen. Many a time since 

 then I have seen partially formed nests of 

 this species, and others from which eggs 

 had been taken or in which young had 

 been Incubated, but I have seen only one 

 other nest with eggs. I have on several 

 occasions seen the bird in the act of form- 

 ing her nest, but no sooner did she become 

 i aware that it was discovered than she im- 

 ; mediately forsook it. Once I saw a nest in 

 ; which young had evidently been raised, in 

 a hole in the side of an old moss-covered 

 log. Another time when engaged in sugar- 

 making I saw a bird of this species carry- 

 : ing bits of moss into a hole in the top of 

 an old rotten stump, but when she saw me 

 examining her nesting-place no more work 

 was performed there. I have much other 

 evidence to show that if the nest is touched 

 or the bird suspects that it has been dis- 

 covered before eggs are deposited, she at 

 j once deserts it. In the early part of .lune, 



