WRENS 
323i 
The Carolina Wren is one of the finest singers of the family. The song 
is not continuous or long but it has a peculiar flute-like, liquid quality 
and is of striking beauty. The species is rare in Canada and its song is 
heard either regularly or occasionally in only a few localities. 
Economic Status. Too rare in Canada to have any perceptible econ- 
omic influence. 
725. Long-billed Marsh Wren, lb railleur ou troglodyte des marais. Tel- 
niatodytes palustris. L, 5*2. A richly coloured wren with dark brown, or almost black* 
mantle falling from hindneck over shoulders 
which are streaked with white; all remainder 
above brownish red; creamy white below, with 
Banks washed with light brown. 
Distinctions. A wren with a streaked back 
and a uniformly coloured crown. 
Field Marks . A wren inhabiting wet cat- 
tail or tule marsh, streaked on back, plain on 
crown, and with a decided eyebrow-line (Figure 
412). 
Nesting. Near the top of the reeds or rushes 
in wide, wet marshes; nest, a ball of dead cat-tail 
leaves, grass, or reeds. Unlike many other 
marsh-haunters this species is not attracted by 
marshes of small size. A swampy pool a few yards 
across attracts the Red-wing and perhaps a rail 
or two, but the Long-billed Marsh Wren demands 
a considerable area. An interesting trait of many 
of the wrens and well developed in this species is 
the habit of building numerous sham nests near the one really occupied. The use made of 
these nests is not known, but as many as eight or nine nests that can be reasonably at- 
tributed to the efforts of one pair may at times be found. 
Distribution. United States and southern Canada. Across the Dominion. 
SUBSPECIES. Four subspecies of this species are recognizable in Canada. The* 
Eastern Marsh Wren (le Railleur ou Troglodyte des marais de l’Est) Telmatodytes palustris 
palustris extends west to the Great Lakes. The bird of Manitoba and west to the mountains; 
is the Prairie Marsh Wren (le Railleur ou Troglodyte des marais des Prairies) Telmato- 
dytes palustris dissaeptus, a lighter-coloured bird, especially on the back, where the dark 
cape is less continuous and the light browns tend toward ochre. The Western Marsh 
Wren (le Railleur ou Troglodyte des marais de l’Ouest) Telmatodytes palustris plesius 
inhabits the interior of British Columbia; it is like the prairie bird, but the breast is dirty 
greyish instead of white or washed with clear tawny. On the coast we have the Tule 
Marsh Wren (le Railleur ou Troglodyte des marais a joncs) Telmatodytes palustris paludi- 
cola, a generally much darker bird than any of the above. An Alberta Marsh Wren (le* 
Railleur ou Troglodyte des marais de 1’Alberta) Telmatodytes palustris laingi has been, 
proposed in Saskatchewan and Alberta. 
Wide, watery tule swamps or quaking bogs grown with cat-tails and! 
reeds are the places to expect the Long-billed Marsh Wren. Here in the* 
reedy tangle just above the water it climbs and creeps about, scolding 
occasionally but usually keeping well from sight. At a safe distance from 
the intruder it mounts a tall, solitary stalk to reconnoitre and then launches 
itself into the air some 10 or 15 feet and gurgles out a rippling, melodious 
little song as it gently sinks on fluttering wings to another station. This 
bubbling song of the Marsh Wren is one of the pleasantest characteristics 
of the marsh lands. 
Figure 412 
Long-billed Marsh Wren; natural size. 
