CAROLINA WREN. 



275 



the Cardinal Grosbeak, whose expressions it often closely imi- 

 tates both in power and delivery. I shall never, I believe, 

 forget the soothing satisfaction and amusement I derived from 

 this little constant and unwearied minstrel, my sole vocal com- 

 panion through many weary miles of a vast, desolate, and 

 otherwise cheerless wilderness. Yet with all his readiness to 

 amuse by his Protean song, the epitome of all he had ever 

 heard or recollected, he was still studious of concealment, 

 keeping busily engaged near the ground, or in low thickets, in 

 quest of his food ; and when he mounted a log or brush pile, 

 which he had just examined, his color, so similar to the fallen 

 leaves and wintry livery of Nature, often prevented me from 

 gaining a glimpse of this wonderful and interesting mimic. 



Like the preceding species, he has restless activity and a 

 love for prying into the darkest corners after his prey, and is 

 particularly attached to the vicinity of rivers and wet places, 

 when not surrounded by gloomy shade. His quick and capri- 

 cious motions, antic jerks, and elevated tail resemble the actions 

 of the House Wren. Eager and lively in his contracted flight, 

 before shifting he quickly throws himself forward, so as nearly 

 to touch his perch previous to springing from his legs. In 

 Tuscaloosa and other towns in Alabama he appeared frequently 

 upon the tops of the bams and out-houses, delivering with 

 energy his varied and desultory lay. At Tallahassee, in West 

 Florida, I observed one of these birds chanting near the door 

 of a cottage, and occasionally imitating, in his way, the squall- 

 ing of the crying child within, so that, like the Mocking Bird, 

 all sounds, if novel, contribute to his amusement. 



This species is common in the Southern States and north to 40°, 

 being extremely abundant in southern Illinois, and it occasionally 

 wanders to northern Ohio and to New York, Connecticut, Massa- ' 

 chusetts, and southern New Hampshire. Mr. Saunders reports 

 that one was taken near London, Ontario, in February, 1891. 



Note. — The Florida Wren {T.ludovicianus miamensis) is 

 a larger, darker form, which is restricted to southeastern Florida. 



