( 430 
WINTER WREN. 
TROGLODYTES HYEMALIS, VIE\LL. 
PLATE CCCLX. Mates, Femate, anp Youne. 
Tue extent of the migratory movements of this diminutive bird, is 
certainly the most remarkable fact connected with its history. At the 
approach of winter it leaves its northern retreats, perhaps in Labrador 
or Newfoundland, crosses the inlets of the Gulf of St Lawrence on 
tiny concave wings, and betakes itself to warmer regions, where it re- 
mains until the beginning of spring. Playfully and with alacrity it 
performs the task, hopping from one stump or fallen log to another, 
flitting from twig to twig, from bush to bush, here and there flying a 
few yards; feeding, singing, and bustling on, as if quite careless as to 
time or distance. It has reached the shore of some broad stream, and 
here a person ignorant of its habits might suppose it would be stopped ; 
but no, it spreads its wings, and glides over like a meteor. 
I have found the Winter Wren in the lower parts of Louisiana, 
and in the Floridas, in December and January, but never saw one 
there after the end of the latter month. Their stay in those parts 
rarely exceeds three months; two more are employed in forming a 
nest and rearing their broods; and as they leave Labrador by the mid- 
dle of August at the latest, they probably spend more than half of the 
year in travelling. It would be interesting to know whether those 
which breed along the Columbia River, near the Pacific Ocean, visit 
the shores of our Atlantic States. My friend THomas Nutrau in- 
forms me that he occasionally saw the Winter Wren feeding its young 
in the woods, along the north-west coast. 
At Eastport, in Maine, when on my way to Labrador, I found 
this species in full song, and extremely abundant, although the air 
was chill, and icicles hung from every rock, it being then the 9th of 
May. On the 11th of June, I found it equally plentiful in the Magda- 
lene Islands, and wondered how it could have made its way there, but 
was assured by the inhabitants that none were ever seen in winter. 
On the 20th of July, I met with it at Labrador, and again asked my- 
self, how it could possibly have reached those remote and rugged 
