THE LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN. 271 



General Range. — Eastern United States, north to Massachusetts, Ontario 

 and southern Manitoba; wintering from the Gulf States south to eastern Mexico, 

 and locally as far north as southern New England. Breeds throughout its United 

 States and British American range. 



Range in Ohio. — Regular summer resident in suitable localities, — the Reser- 

 voirs, Lake Erie shore, etc. Found elsewhere, but not commonly, during migra- 

 tions. 



TO the Coots and Rails belong the ooze-infesting morsels of the swamp, 

 but all the little crawling things which venture into the upper story of the wav- 

 ing cat-tail forest belong to the Long-billed Marsh Wren. Somewhat less cau- 

 tious that the water-fowl, he is the presiding genius of flowing acres, which 

 often have no other interest for the ornithologist. There are only two occa- 

 sions when the Marsh Wren voluntarily leaves the shelter of the cat-tails or 

 of the closely related marshables. One of these is when he is driven south 

 by the migrating instinct. Then he may be seen skulking about the borders 

 of streams, sheltering in the weeds or clambering about the drift. The other 

 time is in the spring, when the male shoots up into the air a few feet above 

 the reeds, like a ball from a Roman candle, and sputters all the way, only to 

 drop back, extinguished, into the reeds again. This is a part of the tactics of 

 his courting season, when, if ever, a body may be allowed a little liberty. For 

 the rest he clings sidewise to the cat-tail stems or sprawls in midair, reaching, 

 rather than flying from one stem to another. His tail is cocked up and his 

 head is thrown back, so that, on those few occasions when he is seen, he does 

 not get credit for being as large as he really is. 



The Wren is very free with his metallic clattering notes. As in the case 

 of the Carolina Wren, the bird gives one the impression of being chock-full, 

 and of needing only to turn a convenient spigot to let out a flood of sounds. 

 There is a mixture of clicking, lisping, purring, and sweet sputtering about 

 them all which is not at all unpleasant to the ear. 



In nesting this Wren weaves a compact ball of dead reeds and grasses 

 a little deeper than wide, and slung midway of the growing reeds, as in the 

 illustration. The interstices of the structure are tightly packed with vege- 

 table cotton, cat-tail down, or moss, — never mud,' in my experience. Entrance 

 is effected through a hole in the side, often difficult to discover, and the in- 

 terior is snugly lined with down or purloined feathers. While the female is 

 incubating, the male has a curious habit of constructing other nests in the 

 neighboring reeds. These cocks' nests vary from three to twenty in number, 

 and spread out through an area of a square rod or two. Some are never 



1 Dr. Wheaton says, "It is composed of coarse grasses and mud", but he is evidently misled by Dr. 

 Brewer's statement, which, however accurate it may be for New England, centainly does not apply to nests 

 in tliis region. 



