THE LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN, 



{Cistothorus pahistris.) 



From the reeds would spring, 

 Whirring, the meadow-wren, and start and stare 

 And sputter, lighting from their bending tops, 

 As if mdignant and no less amazed 

 That I should thus, with causeless and ill-timed 

 Approach, upon the privacy intrude 

 And urgent duties of her precious life. 



— George Hill, "Ramblings in Autumn. 



One of the most noticeable and char- 

 acteristic birds of swampy or marshy 

 places is the Long-billed Marsh Wren. 

 It is seen at its best if the reed-bordered 

 shore be approached in a boat from 

 the water side. As we push our boat 

 among the reeds the better to study this 

 little feathered acrobat, we are greeted 

 by his harsh alarm notes as he scolds 

 us for intruding upon his private do- 

 main. And now, as we push farther in, 

 we hear all about us the harsh notes 

 of alarm, with now and then a few clear, 

 cheerful little notes from the wrens at 

 a distance who have not yet been dis- 

 turbed. Let us remain perfectly quiet 

 for a few minutes and see what will 

 happen. The harsh notes gradually 

 cease as the little fellows become reas- 

 sured and in a short time the cheerful 

 note alone is heard. And now, his curi- 

 osity getting the better of his fears, one 

 of the Wrens approaches and alights 

 upon a reed not far away and proceeds 

 to inspect us. He is never still for a 

 single moment, but hops and flits about 

 as though on most urgent business. 

 One very striking position is with the 

 tail thrown up until it almost touches 

 the back, at the same time swaying 

 about in a most ludicrous fashion. 

 Others now approach and may be seen 

 in many different attitudes, some 

 scrambling about near their nests while 

 others seem to be running races up and 

 down the stems of the reeds. These 

 Wrens seem very excitable and are sel- 

 dom observed perching quietly upon a 

 reed. 



The nest of the Long-billed Marsh 

 Wren is quite a model of bird architec- 

 ture. It is built of rather coarse grasses 

 which are woven into the form of a ball 

 and attached by blades of long grass to 

 several tough grasses or reeds. If built 

 among the reeds one or more reed stems 

 may pass directly through the nest for 

 greater support. A little round hole 

 forms the entrance and inside it is lined 

 with fine grasses with an occasional 

 feather or horse hair. Some of the nests 

 are models of neatness, while others re- 

 mind us of an untidy person, with the 

 ends of grasses hanging from them and 

 with the grasses loosely woven to- 

 gether. 



A notable feature which impresses an 

 observer, as he looks /Over a tract of 

 reed bordered shore, is the large num- 

 ber of nests which may be observed in 

 a small area. These are probably not 

 all new nests, as those of the previous 

 year are generally so strongly built that 

 many of them remain practically intact 

 for more than a year. It seems to be 

 true, however, that these Wrens build 

 more nests than they use. One peculi- 

 arity in the construction of the nest is 

 the projection of the upper part of the 

 entrance hole, presumably to aid in 

 keeping out the rain. 



Egg laying begins in ^lay. The eggs, 

 generally six in number, are wonder- 

 fully colored. Some are deep chocolate 

 colored, others are lighter with a dark 

 zone at the larger end, while still others 

 have a whitish ground over which are 

 scattered patches of brown. Sometimes 



