BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
95 
C, Vol. VL, 1 88 1, p. 54) seeing two birds, one of which he shot, at 
Rye Beach, N. H., August 7, 1880/' Of course this is considerably 
north of the normal range of the Carolina Wren, yet I have reason to 
believe that if New Hampshire ornithologists keep a sharp lookout, 
its occasional presence is likely to be announced anywhere in the 
southern or central portions of the state. 
Trog-lodytes aedon. House Wren. 721. 
While House Wrens are likely to be found breeding anywhere in 
this locality, at the same time they are. actually so scarce as to be 
almost rare. My only record of this Wren's appearance here relates 
to a spring migrant which I observed on the nineteenth of May. They 
are certainly less common in this state now than they were fifty years 
ago. The years in which I have seen one are many less than those 
in which I have seen none. I have not found it in any of the collec- 
tions around here that I have visited. It is to be looked for along 
tumbled-down stone walls, half hidden by raspberry bushes and decay- 
ing brush. The song of this species is agreeable to hear, yet inferior 
to that of its relative, the W^inter Wren. 
Olbiorchilus hiemalis. Winter Wren. 722. 
Winter Wrens usually journey northward through this section during 
the latter half of April. They move along very quietly, and generally 
escape the notice of casual observers. In the fall they usually appear 
about the twelfth of October ; few remain after the end of that month, 
though sometimes they stay much later. Mr. George F. Went worth 
has seen a pair at Dover on the thirtieth of December, and Mr. Shaw 
tells of one which he saw at Hampton in January. I hardly think 
Winter Wrens can be found here in the sumnier, but a little nearer the 
mountains they are to be found in moist woods during the nesting 
season. The song of this wren is marvelous for volume and melody, 
and is delivered with such an energetic abandon that a listener cannot 
help wondering how the singer manages to keep his hold on the perch. 
Cistothorus stellaris. Short-billed Marsh Wren. 724. 
An item from the pen of Mr. William Brewster in the second 
edition of Minofs " Land and Game Birds of New England,"' page 76, 
note, concerning this species, informs us that it is known to 
breed at least as far north as Rye Beach, N. H." This evidence of 
the bird's presence is sufificient, in spite of the fact that all inquiries 
among local ornithologists have failed to support it. 
