lOLOGIST 



[Vol. iS-No. I 



9 



A Comparison of the Nesting Hab- 

 its of the Long-billed and Short- 

 billed Marsh Wren. 



The Short-billed Marsh Wren ( Cistot- 

 Iiorus stellaris) seems to be confined to 

 certain sections for the nesting season. I 

 know of but two places where they are to 

 be found in numbers, and as these places 

 are somewhat under thirty miles from my 

 present residence, and, so far as I know, 

 but one other oologist besides my brother 

 and myself knows about them, the birds are 

 disturbed very little and consequently con- 

 gregate in considerable numbers every 

 year. The Long-bills ( C. pahisfr/s) are 

 common almost anywhere. 



Tlie Short-billed usually lias the first 

 nest completed and eggs laid by the last of 

 May and the Long-bills about a week 

 later ; as at that time of the year the grass 

 is not very long, the nest is often built so 

 that it almost touches the hummock from 

 which the supporting grass grows, but I 

 have never seen them actually on or in the 

 hummock. As a rule it is built some dis- 

 tance from the ground, and one, containing 

 seven eggs, was built in the top of the 

 bunch of the grass — the tops of the live 

 grass being woven in and forming part of 

 the nest. 



I have noticed that while both species 

 build in wet meadows (in this case fresh- 

 water meadows) the Long-bills invariably 

 build in the tall rank grass and near some 

 river or brook, while tiie Short-bills are 

 equally particular in choosing a shorter 

 and much less rank kind of grass. When 

 the first set is laid, the grass all over the 

 meadows is rather short and not very 

 rank, so that the nests may be anywhere 

 and it is nothing but pure luck when one 

 is found ; but later in the season, when 

 most of the grass is long and rank, the 

 Long-bills stay wherever they happen to 

 i be, while those of the other species come 

 from all parts of the meadows, and con- 



grass which is so common in every 

 ■fw. 



Short-billed Marsh Wren has a 

 s habit of often pulling to pieces any 

 lat has been handled, whether decoy 

 erwise, so long as it has not begun 

 in it, for I have repeatedly placed 

 1; a few feet from the nest with the 

 Ig noted, only to find the nest gone 

 ards except for a sort of thin skele- 

 grass. 



he nest contains a set of eggs I do 

 ink it is possible to make them de- 

 as the two following incidents will 



June I, 1892, 1 collected a nest con- 

 y six eggs, but, for some reason, I 

 it have an egg-box (I cannot under- 

 how it happened) , so I left the eggs 

 nest and laid it, entrance up, on the 

 lock from which it had been cut, 

 ;gan to search for other nests further 

 the marsh. In about half an hour 

 n'ned, walking rather carefully in 

 not to overlook it or step on it. 

 IS I reached the edge of the little 

 ig of trampled grass and saw the 

 :he bird jumped out of it and flew 

 I felt meaner for taking that nest 

 'or all the others I have taken put 

 er. I do not know whether she 

 have hatched the eggs or not, but 

 Ust have been on the nest for some 

 efore being frightened away, as the 

 vere perfectly warm, 

 the other case my brother found a 

 n July 16 containing seven eggs, 

 ishing to show it to a friend just as 

 !, stopped the entrance with a small 

 f grass. On July 24 he visited it 

 and found that the top had been 

 jed out, enlarged and lined, so as to 

 Another perfect nest just above the 

 ,ne ; the second compartment con- 

 three eggs. Foolishly enough, we 

 t nest to see if any more eggs would 

 , but on visiting it two days later. 



