74 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 
of both creatures, at this unexpected meeting, were very ludi- 
crous and yet very charming. : 
“ Note. Thryothorus Ludovicianus. Great Carolina Wren. 
(Said to have occurred in Connecticut.) 
(a). Nearly six inches long. Above, reddish-brown; be- 
neath, chiefly tawny. Superciliary stripe, white or buffy. 
Wings, tail (and under tail-coverts ?), black-barred. Wings 
often somewhat white-spotted. 
(b). ‘¢The nest is composed of various warm materials, 
placed in a cavity, such as the hole of a tree, or some hole in 
a building.” An egg in my collection measures about °75 X 
‘55 of an inch, and is dull white, spotted somewhat coarsely 
with obscure lilac and several rather quiet browns, which are 
chiefly collected at the crown. 
(c). ‘The Great Carolina Wrens (Zhryothorus Ludovici- 
anus), so far as J know, have not previously been reported as 
visitors to Massachusetts, but there are at present two appar- 
ently passing the summer in a small wooded swamp near 
Boston. It is believed that they have arrived since the fourth 
of July, soon after which my attention was attracted by their 
loud notes, which T immediately recognized through their gen- 
eral likeness to the notes of other wrens, and the descriptions 
of Wilson and Audubon. It is further believed that they are 
now building or have recently built their nest, the female being 
rarely seen, though the male often visits the shrubbery about 
the house. Though unwilling that they should be shot, I have 
no doubt as to their identity, partly on account of their music, 
which I have never before heard, though familiar with our birds. 
Moreover the description of the birds which I wrote on the 
spot, where I first obtained a good view of the male, corre- 
sponds in every important particular to the descriptions given 
by standard authors. To facilitate the detection of these birds 
elsewhere in Massachusetts, I offer a slight sketch of their 
habits and notes, as just observed. 
“The Carolina Wrens, being shy, are not easily studied, for, 
on man’s approach, they often discontinue their song, and hide 
themselves in the surrounding shrubbery, or in a neighboring 
