Wir EIN >. 
Troglodytidae. 
THOLOGISTS’ UNION, the family of Wrens includes also the 
Mockingbirds, Catbirds and Thrashers. It consists of a large 
EX.) number of species, nearly all of them American. The great major- 
NE ity of these inhabit the warmer parts of the western hemisphere, 
especially the tropical parts of South America. They are ‘‘inces- 
santly rustling about in the ‘intricate recesses of their chosen. resorts, 
gliding with short flights or leaping impetuously. Such humility, and 
the evident desire for a means of ready concealment, even though not 
always taken advantage of, contrast curiously with some other traits, 
the Wrens exhibit in an exaggerated degree, and result in a singular 
compound. For the Wrens possess a high rate of irritability—they are 
bold, self-asserting and aggressive, petulent to the verge of fretfulness, 
with a certain pertness of demeanor, and a singularly prying, inquisitive disposition. 
They are the irrepressible busy-bodies of feathered society, and not seldom make trouble 
among some of the milder-mannered and better-behaved members of the sylvan circle. 
They are noisy birds; when alarmed or displeased, they have a loud, harsh, chattering 
or scolding note; but they are also fine songsters. Every one is familiar with the bright 
hearty carol which the House Wren trills so persistently in the spring, and the song of 
other species is often of wonderful timbre.... The Wrens are all plainly colored birds, 
the browns and grays being the prevailing shades; none of our species, at least, and 
perhaps none of the family, show red, blue, yellow, or green. The dietetic regimen is 
insectivorous.’’ (Coues.) 
The true Wrens consist of the following genera: 
1, Campylorhynchus Spix. Two species. 
2, Salpinctes CaBaNis. Two species. 
3, Catherpes Bairp. One species. 
« 4, Thryothorus ViEILL. Three species. 
5, Troglodytes ViEILL. Three species. 
6, Cistothorus CaBaNis. Two species. 
