174 
WINTER WREN. 
four inches and a half long, and five and three-quarters in extent ; the 
whole upper parts of a deep brown, transversely crossed with black, ex- 
cept the head and neck, which is plain ; throat, breast and cheeks light 
clay-color; belly and vent mottled with black, brown and white; tail 
long, cuneiform, crossed with black; legs and feet light clay-colored ; 
bill black, long, slightly curved, sharp pointed, and resembling that of 
the genus Certhia considerably ; the whole plumage below the surface 
is bluish ash ; that on the rump having large round spots of white, not 
perceivable unless separated with the hand. The female differs very 
little in plumage from the male. 
Species VI. SYLVIA TROGLODYTES?* 
WINTER WREN. 
[Plate VIII. Fig. 6.] 
Motacilla troglodytes? Linn. 
This little stranger visits us from the north in the month of October, 
sometimes remaining with us all the winter, and is always observed 
early in spring on his route back to his breeding place. In size, color, 
song and manners he approaches nearer to the European Wren [M. tro- 
glodytes) than any other species we have. During his residence here, 
he frequents the projecting banks of creeks, old roots, decayed logs, 
small bushes and rushes near watery places ; he even approaches the 
farm-house, rambles about the wood-pile, creeping among the interstices 
like a mouse. With tail erect, which is his constant habit, mounted on 
some projecting point or pinnacle, he sings with great animation. Even 
in the yards, gardens and outhouses of the city, he appears familiar, and 
quite at home. In short, he possesses almost all the habits of the 
European species. He is, however, migratory, which may be owing to 
the superior coldness of our continent. Never having met with the nest 
and eggs, I am unable to say how nearly they approximate to those of 
the former. 
I can find no precise description of this bird, as an American species, 
in any European publication. Even some of our own naturalists seem 
to have confounded it with another very different bird, the 3Iarsh 
* Wilson appears to be correct in considering this species the same as the 
European. The following synonymes may be <fiven : Motacilla troglodytes, Linn. 
Si/xt. Ed. 10, i., 188.— Gmel. Syst. i., 993.— Sylvia troglodytes, Lath. Lid. Om. n., 
p. 547.— Lc RoiUlet, Buff. PI. Enl. 05 J, fig. 2. 
