MARSH WREN. I35 



indications of bars; the lower wing-coverts and axillaries greyish-white, some 

 of the former with dusky markings; the lower tail-coverts brownish-white, 

 barred with dusky. 



Length to end of tail 4 T 2 2 inches, to end of wings 3^', bill along the ridge 

 Y2', wing from flexure 2i; tail 1 T ^; tarsus T 8 2; hind toe yf, its claw T %; 

 middle toe yg-, its claw -ff. 



Feeling perfectly confident that this species is distinct from any other, and 

 not finding it anywhere described, I have named it after my most kind, 

 generous, and highly talented friend George Parkman, Esq., M. D., of 

 Boston, as an indication of the esteem in which I hold him, and of the 

 gratitude which I ever cherish towards him. 



Parkman's Wren, Troglodytes Parkmanii, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 310. Nuttall, 

 Man., vol. i. p. 483. (Second Edition.) 



MARSH WREN. 



-^Troglodytes palustris, Wils. 

 PLATE CXXIIL— Male, Female, and Nest. 



The haunts of this interesting little bird are, in the Middle Districts, the 

 margins of rivers at their confluence with the sea, and the adjoining marshes 

 of our Atlantic shores. In such places, the Marsh Wren is found in great 

 numbers, from the beginning of April to the middle of October, when it re- 

 tires southward, many individuals wintering on the south-western shores of 

 the Floridas, and along the mouths of the Mississippi. 



It is a homely little bird, and is seldom noticed, unless by the naturalist, 

 when searching for other species, or by children, who in all countries are 

 fond of birds. It lives entirely amongst the sedges, flags, and other rank 

 plants that cover the margins of the rivers, and the inlets of the sea. Its 

 flight is very low and short, and is performed by a continued flirting of the 

 wings, but without the motions of the tail employed by the Great Carolina 

 Wren. Its song, if song I can call it, is composed of several quickly repeated 

 notes, resembling the grating of a rusty hinge, and is uttered almost con- 

 tinuously during the fore part of the day, the performer standing perched on 



