186 
ORDERS OF BIRDS— PERCHERS AND SINGERS 
both the preceding species, it is a winter resident, 
and in fact is not much in evidence at any other 
season. The four species of this group cover the 
United States, and extend from Alaska to Guate- 
mala.- 
THE WRENS AND CAT-BIRDS. 
Troglodytidae. 
In some respects, the wrens are but a short 
step from the tree-creepers, but in others they 
are widely apart. For its size the House-Wren 1 
BROWN CREEPER. 
is the most pert and saucy bird in North Amer- 
ica. Forty years ago, a pair of these merry little 
sprites took up their abode in the wild fastnesses 
of the grape-arbor that sheltered our well; and 
I can hear their shrill chatter yet. It was like the 
piping of a piccolo. For eight years, they and 
their children and grandchildren possessed the 
outskirts of our dwelling, and it was a great day 
when we discovered a beautiful, feather-lined 
nest, nearly six inches deep, that the Wrens had 
built in an old-fashioned lantern that hung in the 
wood-house. I wish it were possible to have 
1 Tro-glo-dy'tes ae' don. Length, 4.75 to 5.25 
inches. 
Wrens around a city dwelling, or in a Zoological 
Park. 
A Wren is known by the way it carries its 
tail, so very straight up in the air that sometimes 
it tilts forward. The House-Wren is the most 
sociable of all our wild birds, and also the one 
most confident of its place in the hearts of its 
countrymen. I never knew of a Wren being 
killed by any one save a collector of bird-skins. 
As for myself, I would go Wrenless forever rather 
than take the life of a creature so winsome and 
trustful. Even the cats of our household used 
to respect the family Wrens. In the country, 
where there are no English sparrows, it is easy 
to attract these interesting birds by putting up 
nesting-boxes for them. Five species of Wrens 
occupy the United States, from ocean to ocean, 
the Pacific species, west of the Rockies, being the 
Tule Wren. 
The Brown Thrasher . 2 — Vocally, this 
bird is practically the northern understudy of 
the mocking-bird. When, after a warm spring 
shower and a sudden burst of sunshine, an able- 
bodied Brown Thrasher perches on the tip-top 
of a red-haw bush, and for fifteen minutes pours 
forth a steady stream of delicious melody, in be- 
wildering variations, one is tempted to declare 
that no mocking-bird can surpass it. It is sim- 
ply indescribable. Often when sadly toiling in 
the Iowa fields, I have been stopped and held by 
this feathered spellbinder for what seemed to my 
brothers like very long intervals. 
In form this bird is very much like the mock- 
ing-bird, but its back is colored a rich iron-rust 
brown, and its under surface is dull white, strongly 
spotted with large, triangular brown spots. Its 
home is the whole of the United States east of 
the Rocky Mountains, and it is the sweetest 
singer of the North. Unfortunately, its song- 
period is rather short, and terminates about the 
end of June. 
The Cat-Bird 3 of the North bears a strong 
resemblance to the mocking-bird, in form, color 
and movement. It is also a good singer, though 
hardly in the same class as its southern relative. 
It is very sociable in its habits, and loves the 
orchards, gardens, fruit-trees, and berry-bushes 
of the country dweller. Its name is derived 
from its favorite exclamatory cry, which sounds 
2 Hcir-po-rhyn'chus ru'fus. Length, 11.25 inches. 
3 Gal-e-os-cop' tes carolinensis. Length, 8.75 inches. 
