short time before as a hen's nest. When, taken possession of by the Wren, the box was nearly full of 
straw and grass. In this, near one corner, a cavity was made to receive the nest. The illustration shows 
the nest as it was lifted from the cavity, some of the grasses still hanging to it. The materials used in 
its construction are like those in No. 2, even to the pieces of snake-skin. The eggs figured are of the 
usual sizes and markings. The mother-bird was at home when the nest was discovered, and was with 
difficulty persuaded to abandon it. She scolded and hopped about, all the while jerking her tail by way 
of emphasis in a Wren-like manner. Her mate showed his interest in the proceedings by uttering a few 
squeaking sounds, and then flying off to a neighboring tree, where he commenced his rollicking song. 
The persistency of this bird is sometimes remarkable. They have been known to rebuild a nest 
eight or ten times before abandoning the chosen locality. A few years ago a pair commenced nesting 
in the wooden spout of a pump, and, as the pump was in daily use, the selection proved not a happy 
one. No sooner would the birds fill up the spout than it would be torn away. In an hour they would 
collect rubbish enough to again effectually prevent the flow of water. For two days they persisted in 
their work, but finally, in apparently good humor, gave it up, and selected a box put up for their use. 
A nest placed upon a window-sill of a country house, between the shutter and the sash, had a beau- 
tiful domed-roof, and a walk the width of the sill and sixteen inches long, leading to the door-way, com- 
posed of fine rootlets and grass. This nest was torn down by the house-wife, but the next afternoon a 
similar structure met her eyes. This was permitted to remain until six eggs were deposited ; it was then 
added to my collection. In a few days another, but more elaborate nest, was constructed. Much pleased 
with the plucky little architects, their last effort was left undisturbed, and a family of six Wrens was 
raised, to the amusement of the household, who watched their queer movements through the window- 
panes. 
In Ross county, a pair of Wrens occupied for a number of years the pocket of a cast-off coat hang- 
ing in a wood-shed. Every season the pocket was emptied of the old nest to save the birds the trouble. 
In making their daily rounds, they always passed in and out the shed through a knot-hole or chink be- 
tween the boards, even when the door and windows were open, a habit very characteristic of the bird. 
This attachment to place is however not always so strongly manifested. It is not uncommon for a pair 
to return year after year to the same neighborhood, but as a rule they build in a different site each 
summer. 
J. M. Wheaton, M. D., to whose work on Ohio birds I am indebted for the quotation at the begin- 
ning of this article, is of opinion that the Carolina Wren has been increasing in numbers in the city 
of Columbus and vicinity, in late years. A similar statement will apply to nearly all the towns in 
central and southern Ohio. The following interesting observations are quoted from the same author : 
“ The Carolina Wren frequently climbs trees. On the first occasion that I noticed this habit, a pair 
of them ascended the trunk of a large oak tree for more than fifty feet. They accomplished this exactly 
in the manner of the creeper, now moving up and now circling around, only stopping a moment, now 
and then, to peer and pick in the crevices of the bark, and at short intervals uttering a single note like 
that of the Nuthatch, but lower and softer. I have several times witnessed the same actions. 
“ There is a marked variation in color among these birds. Some have the brown of upper parts 
decidedly suffused with ashy, the under parts whitish or ashy without a trace of tawny on breast or 
abdomen ; others have the upper parts rich dark redArown, with hardly a trace of ashy even on the 
head, while the under parts are bright uniform ferrugineous. Between these extremes every intermediate 
phase may be found. These differences are not distinctive of age, sex, or season. I have found both 
forms in the same brood of young before they were fully fledged, the contrast being as decided as in 
young birds of the Gray and Red varieties of the Mottled Owl.” 
63 
