LAND BIRDS. 677 
says: “Very partial to the tamarack and cedar swamps where they 
would be heard singing from the tops oj the tallest trees. It was often 
heard singing along the shores of the lakes and bays, preferring places 
where there was a rank growth of ground hemlock” (Adams’ Rep., Mich. 
Geol. Surv., 1908, 380). 
The nest is placed on or near the ground, but usually in some recess 
among the roots of trees, in a brush heap, under a log, or even in a burrow 
in a mossy bank, so that the eggs are rarely if ever visible. It is composed 
largely of fine dead twigs and green moss, lined with fur, feathers, and 
sometimes other soft materials. The eggs are white, thinly and finely 
speckled with reddish brown, mostly about the larger end, but not in- 
frequently these spots are almost wanting and the eggs at first glance 
appear to be entirely white or creamy white. They average .69 by .50 
inches. The usual number in a set is five or six, although seven and even 
eight have been recorded. 
The food presumably is similar to that of the -House Wren, but owing 
to the habitat it has not the economic importance of that species. 
Dr. Gibbs found the Winter Wren numerous, and doubtless breeding, 
in the eastern part of Ottawa county June 10, 1878, and he saw one carry- 
ing nesting material near Howard City, Montcalm county, May 13, 1885. 
L. J. Cole states that about Grand Rapids he has seen the bird during the 
breeding season, and that E. W. Durfee once found the nest there. At 
Port Huron Mr. Hazelwood has failed to find the nest and considers the 
bird rare. The writer found it abundant and still in song in the west- 
ern part of Mackinae county the first week in August 1901, and since 
Ruthven Deane found the nest with eggs at Houlton, Maine, on August 
8, it seems certain that the species often, if not regularly, rears two bivods 
in a season. 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Known at once by the very short tail (much shorter than wing) and the dispropor- 
tionately large feet and legs. 
Adult: Upper parts, including wings and tail, dark brown, darkest on head, brightest 
on rump; usually barred with black everywhere except on head, but the barring most 
conspicuous on wings and tail, sometimes entirely lacking on the back; outer webs of 
primaries checked with whitish; wing-coverts with terminal dots of buffy white; chin, 
throat and breast brownish gray (sometimes only soiled white on the chin), unspotted; 
belly and sides dark brown, thickly mottled and barred with black; sides of head and 
neck mottled or streaked with light and dark brown; a buffy white stripe above and behind 
the eye. Sexes alike; seasonal changes slight. 
Length 3.50 to 4.10 inches; wing 1.75 to 2; tail 1.15 to 1.40. 
307. Short-billed Marsh Wren. Cistothorus stellaris (Nawm.). (724) 
Synonyms: Fresh-water Marsh Wren, Meadow Wren, Grass Wren.—Troglodytes 
stellaris, Naumann, 1823.—Thryothorus _ stellaris, Turnbull, —1869.—Troglodytes 
brevirostris, Nutt., 1832, Aud., 1834.—Cistothorus stellaris, Baird, 1858, and most sub- 
sequent authors. 
Mottled black and brown above, with white streaks on back and on 
top of head; under parts mainly white, but sides and a bar across the chest 
yellowish-brown. 
Distribution.—Eastern United States, north to southern New Hampshire, 
southern Ontario, southern Michigan, and southern Manitoba, and west 
to the Plains. Winters in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 
The Short-billed Marsh Wren is generally considered a rare bird through- 
