MARSH WREN. 
135 
indications of bars ; the lower wing-coverts and axillaries greyish-white, 
some of the former with dusky markings ; the lower tail-coverts brownish- 
white, barred with dusky. 
Length to end of tail 4 T 2 2 inches, to end of wings 3 T V ; bill along the 
ridge ^ J wing from flexure 2i ; tail 1H 5 tarsus r ®2 ; hind toe j-f, its 
claw t 4 2 ; middle toe T 6 2 > its claw 
Feeling perfectly confident that this species is distinct from any other, 
and not finding it anywhere described, I have named it after my most kind, 
generous, and highly talented friend George Parkman, Esq., M.D., of 
Boston, as an indication of the esteem in which I hold him, and of the 
gratitude which I ever cherish towards him. 
Parkman’s Wren, Troglodytes Par/cmanii, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 310. Nuttall, 
Man., vol. i. p. 483. (Second Edition.) 
MARSH WREN. 
Troglodytes palustris, Wils. 
PLATE CXXIII. — Male, Female, and Nest. 
The haunts of this interesting little bird are, in the Middle Districts, the 
margins of rivers at their confluence with the sea, and the adjoining marshes 
of our Atlantic shores. In such places, the Marsh Wren is found in great 
numbers, from the beginning of April to the middle of October, when it 
retires southward, many individuals wintering on the south-western shores 
of the Floridas, and along the mouths of the Mississippi. 
It is a homely little bird, and is seldom noticed, unless by the naturalist, 
when searching for other species, or by children, who in all countries are 
fond of birds. It lives entirely amongst the sedges, flags, and other rank 
plants that cover the margins of the rivers, and the inlets of the sea. Its 
flight is very low and short, and is performed by a continued flirting of the 
wings, but without the motions of the tail employed by the Great Carolina 
Wren. Its song, if song I can call it, is composed of several quickly repeated 
notes, resembling the grating of a rusty hinge, and is uttered almost con- 
tinuously during the fore part of the day, the performer standing perched on 
