186 



OEDERS OF BIRDS— PERCHEES AND SINGERS 



both the preceding species, it is a winter resident, 

 and in fact is not much in e\'idence at any other 

 season. The four species of this group cover the 

 United States, and extend from Alasl^a to Guate- 

 mala. 



THE WRENS AND CAT-BIRDS. 



Troglodytidae. 



In some respects, the wrens are but a short 

 step from the tree-creepers, but in others they 

 are widely apart. For its size the House-Wren' 



BRUWN CIUOBPER. 



is the most pert and saucy bird in North Amer- 

 ica. Forty years ago, a pair of these merry little 

 sprites took up their abode in the wild fastnesses 

 of the grape-arbor that sheltered our well; and 

 I can hear their shrill chatter yet. It was lil;e the 

 piping of a piccolo. For eight years, they and 

 their children and grandchildren possessed the 

 outskirts of our dwelling, and it was a great day 

 when we disco\'ered a beautiful, feather-lined 

 nest, nearly six inches deep, that the Wrens had 

 built in an old-fashioned lantern that hung in the 

 wood-house. I wish it were possible to have 



1 Tro-fjlo-di/'les ac'don. Length, 4.75 to 5.25 

 inches. 



Wrens around a city dwelling, or in a Zoological 

 Park. 



A Wren is known by the way it carries its 

 tail, so -^'ery straight up in the air that sometimes 

 it tilts forward. The House-Wren is the most 

 sociable of all our wild birds, and also the one 

 most confident of its place in the hearts of its 

 countrymen. I never knew of a Wren being 

 killed by any one save a collector of bird-skins. 

 As for myself, I would go Wrenless forever rather 

 than take the life of a creature so winsome and 

 trustful. Even the cats of our household used 

 to respect the family Wrens. In the country, 

 where there are no English sparrows, it is easy 

 to attract these interesting birds by putting up 

 nesting-boxes for them. Five species of Wrens 

 occupy the United States, from ocean to ocean, 

 the Pacific species, west of the Rockies, being the 

 TuU Wren. 



The Brown Thrasher.'^ — Vocally, this 

 bird is practically the northern understudy of 

 the mocking-bird. When, after a warm spring 

 shower and a sudden burst of sunshine, an able- 

 bodied Brown Thrasher perches on the tip-top 

 of a red-haw bush, and for fifteen minutes pours 

 forth a steady stream of delicious melody, in be- 

 wildering variations, one is tempted to declare 

 that no mocking-bird can surpass it. It is sim- 

 ply indescribable. Often when sadly toiling in 

 the Iowa fields, I have been stopped and held by 

 this feathered spellbinder for what seemed to my 

 brothers like very long intervals. 



In form this bird is very much like the mock- 

 ing-bird, but its back is colored a rich iron-rust 

 brown, and its under surface is dull white, strongly 

 spotted with large, triangular brown spots. Its 

 home is the whole of the United States east of 

 the Rocky Mountains, and it is the sweetest 

 singer of the North. Unfortunately, its song- 

 period is rather short, and terminates about the 

 end of .lune. 



The Cat-Bird'' of the North bears a strong 

 resemblance to the mocking-bird, in form, color 

 and movement. It is also a good singer, though 

 hardly in the same class as its southern relative. 

 It is very sociable in its habits, and loves the 

 orchards, gardens, fruit-trees, and berry-bushes 

 of the country dweller. Its name is derived 

 from its favorite exclamatory cry, which sounds 



' Har-po-rhyn'chus ru'fus. Length, 11.25 inches. 

 '' Gal-e-os-cop' tes carolinensis. Length, 8.75 inches. 



