332 BIRDS OP ALABAMA 



BEWICK WREN; "HOUSE WREN": Thryomanes bemekii 

 hevnckii (Audubon). 



State records. — The Bewick wren (fig. 27), is generally 

 distributed as a summer resident in the northern half of Ala- 

 bama, but is nowhere so abundant as the Carolina wren. In 

 winter it is found in moderate numbers all over the State. It 

 breeds commonly at Leighton, also on Sand Mountain, and 

 probably in many other localities in the northern counties. I 

 saw several at Florence the first week in May, 1912, and one 

 on Monte Sano, near Huntsville, May 13, 1912. Holt saw 

 several at Elkmont in July. Avery records the bird as a 

 winter resident at Greensboro, and it has been observed also 

 at that season at Orange Beach, Bayou Labatre, Carlton, York, 

 and Dean. Golsan and Holt record it as a common winter 

 resident in Autauga and Montgomery Counties,* and it breeds 

 also casually at Autaugaville. 



The first migrants were noted at Greensboro, September 

 17, 1891, and at Autaugaville, October 1, 1915. I found the 

 species at Brewton, October 7, and at Fairhope, October 16, 

 1908. In spring it has been recorded from Dothan as late as 

 March 12, 1912. Saunders found a pair building a nest at 

 Woodbine on April 6, and saw a brood of young at Hollins on 

 May 2, 1908. Graves found a nest with fresh eggs on Sand 

 Mountain (near Carpenter), April 27, 1914, and (Jolsan took 

 a set of 7 fresh eggs at Prattville, March 26, 1916. 



General habits. — This wren avoids swamps and seeks the 

 upland and especially the hills for its home. It is even more 

 domestic than the Carolina wren, and because of its habit of 

 nesting about buildings is frequently known in the South as 

 "house wren."f Its favorite perches are the pinnacle of a 

 roof, a dead branch of a tree, or a telephone wire. Like all 

 wrens, it is active and restless, and may be distinguished 

 easily from the true house wren by its long tail, which is con-^ 

 stantly in motion. It is a charming singer, scarcely excelled 

 by any of our native birds. 



The nest is placed usually in nooks and crevices about out- 

 buildings. It is a bulky structure, usually filling the cavity 



*GolBan and Holt, The Auk, vol. 31, p. 234, 1914. 



tThe true house when (Troglodytes aedon) of the northern states occurs in Alabama 

 only as a mierrant. 



