Interesting Nesting Site of a Winter Wren {Ti-oglodytes hie.malis) 

 — Instead of being in " thick, coniferous woods," I found tliis nest in an 

 upturned beech root in an open part of our deciduous woods. The tree had 

 lodged after falling to an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the nest 

 was stowed awaj in the earth among the rootlets. The beech was just 

 oft" from an unused wood road that had grown up to jewel-weed {Imfa- 

 tieiis pallida) ; and ferns filled the space up to the very edge of the gap 

 from which the tree turned back, and formed a pretty fringe on top of the 

 root. The May rains had turned the cavity beneath into a clear pool of 

 water, and filled the swampy land back of the tree ' with similar pools 

 where Red-eyed Vireos and Scarlet Tanagers came to bathe. — Fi 

 A. Merriam, Locust Grove, Lewis County, New Tork. _ 



/ Wren building in deserted Nest of Martin.-A pair of Wrens built ^' 

 • as year (1882) i„ the deserted nest of a Martin. HiLdo ..J^ T^e 



sltt^Vfrp ' g^-"-^' a„ eastern 



aspect.— H. J. J. Bbydges (Boullibrooke, Presteign). 



/Wren's Eggs in a Swallow's Nest. — In the last number of ' The 

 Zoologist ' (p. 380) is a note by Capt. E. F. Becher respecting the occupa- 

 tion of a Swallow's nest by a Wren. To show that this is not a unique 



case I think it worth while to record a similar instance observed by myself. 

 On the 29th May, 1879, I obtained a clutch of five Wren's eggs from a 

 Swallow's nest built under the rafters in the front of a cow-shed at Tunstall, 

 near Sittingbourne, Kent. The nest was evidently not in any way altered 

 by the Wrens, but contained only the few feathers and short hay which I 

 have usually observed in the nest of the Swallow ; the original proprietors 

 of the nest were also flying about, and one of them entered it for a moment 

 whilst I was watching. I have little doubt that the Wren had either been 

 robbed of or frightened away from its own habitation when just ready to 

 lay, and therefore adopted the first nest suitable to its requirements. — A. Gr.^ 

 BuTLES (British Museum). 



Notes on the Winter Wrkk {A/iorl/nira fro^MyUs /„■<;»,' /is).— 

 My chance acquaintance willi a chapter in the life-historv of this -peeie-. 

 during a recent visit to Grand Manan, N.B., may not be uninteresting to 

 the readers of the Bulletin. I was informed by Mr. S. V. Cheney that" its 

 occurrence in that locality, where it is called the Spruce Wren, is not 

 common. He has seen an occasional pair in previous years, principally 

 in the winter season, and noted its prolonged sweet song, but he had 

 never met with their nest, supposing always that it was placed on the 

 ground in hollow logs. During the breeding season the dense spruce 

 swamps are its home and in such a situation, upon one of the outlying 

 islands near Grand Manan, I found its snugly hidden nest. At "tha^t 

 time no owner appeared and I was ignorant of the value of my prize, but 

 visiting the locality , again on June 2, and carefully approaching to avoid 

 disturbing its occupant, if any, to a distance of "scarce five feet, I saw, 

 cautiously thrust out from the mass of green moss, a brown little head', 

 followed in a moment by the unmistakable form of the Winter Wren. 

 It displayed scarce any fear, alighting only three or four feet from me, 

 jerking its tail ibrward over its back and scolding vehemently, somewhat 

 in the manner of our common House Wren. After watching it for 

 several minutes, in my anxiety to procure it, I proceeded to back 

 off through the thick growth, in order to shoot, but it became alarmed 

 at my movements and suddenly dropped to the ground when a hasty 

 shot failed to procure it, nor did either of the pair subsequently appear. 

 The nest was placed about six feet from the ground, in the end of a 

 decaying stub, the irregularities being neatly filled with green wood moss, 

 both below and around the nest proper, which measures outside 54 

 inches in depth by 4 in width. The entrance is perfectly round, nearly 

 an inch in diameter, placed two inches from the top. and is strengthened 

 by a framework of a few slender dead spruce twigs, woven into the out- 

 side covering of green moss. Above it is well protected by a thick mass 

 of the same green moss which serves so admirably to conceal it from 

 prying eyes. Long, slender, dried grasses form the inner walls, just 

 sufficient to give it strength, and within this a thick lining of soft white 

 feathers of the Herring Gull ( Lar/is argentatus smit/isonia,u<s). A neater, 

 warmer bird home it would be hard to conceive, and had the little archi- 

 tect not incautiously left a " white feather " partly protruding from the 

 entrance I doubt if I should be its possessor. Five eggs were the full 

 complement in this case. They are ovate, slightly pointed at the smaller 

 end, of a brilliant white ground color, very evenly but sparingly sprinkled 

 with reddish-brown dots, and measure respectively .65 X .49, .6^ X .48, 

 .63X.49, .63X.47 and .62X.48. They are larger and less rounded than are 

 the eggs of Par/is atricapillus, though resembling them somewhat in style 

 of marking.- R. F. Pearsall. Nciv York City. 



BUU.N.O.O. 9.oct.i88i.p. ^y^y^^y^" 



