82 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
in the breeding season, but their singing is mostly 
gurgling and chattering, with little attempt at a theme. 
The movements of these birds are characteristic of the 
wrens, quick and brusque. 
The nests are a curious compound of grass, sticks, 
feathers, and lichens; these are sometimes mixed with 
a little mud, and fastened in a bunch of grass or reeds 
intertwined and laced together so that the green grass 
partially covers and neutralizes the appearance of the 
bulky structure. 
The nest has an opening on one side, and is a very 
safe-and cozy place for the mother-bird and young. 
These nests are very abundant on the marshy islands 
in the upper Niagara River, and show quite conspicuously 
in the fall after the rank vegetation withers. 
I have found these nests as early as May, and I saw 
one there last summer, past the middle of July, contain- 
ing nine eggs. These eggs are much darker than those 
of the house wren, often so thickly dotted with reddish 
chocolate as to almost obscure the pinkish groundwork. 
Less abundant, though perhaps more equally distrib- 
uted, are the short-billed marsh wrens (Cistothorus 
stellaris). In many respects these resemble the long- 
billed, but with general plumage lighter, running more 
to streaks than cross-bars. The bill is slender and very 
short. No mud is used in the construction of the nest. 
The eggs are pure white. 
The great Carolina wren (Zroglodytes ludovicianus) 
is occasionally found in this locality, but so rarely that 
he can hardly be claimed as a resident. 
