594 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
Indeed, in the south, where the latter bird is abundant, the 
Thrasher is known as the Sandy Mocker. 
The food of the Brown Thrasher consists of both fruit and 
insects. An examination of 121 stomachs showed 36 per cent, 
of vegetable and 64 of animal food, practically all insects, and 
mostly taken in spring before fruit is ripe. Half the insects 
were beetles, and the remainder chiefly grasshoppers, cater- 
pillars, bugs, and spiders. 
Wild fruits and seeds, a few cultivated berries, and a few 
odd kernels of corn and grain make up its food ; but it pays for 
these many times over by the May beetles it eats at the same 
time. 
House Wren: Troglodytes aedon. S. R. 
Length: 4.50-5.25 inches. 
Male and Female: Dark brown above, minutely barred with blackish. 
Under parts gray with brownish wash and faint bandings. Fairly 
long tail. Bill black above, lower mandible light; feet brown. 
Song: A merry roulade, sudden, abruptly ended and frequently re- 
peated. 
Season: Middle of April to October. 
Nest: A loose heap of sticks with a soft lining, in holes, boxes, etc. 
Eggs: 6-10, cream-color, so thickly spotted with brown that the whole 
egg is tinged. 
The diminutive House Wren frequents barns and gardens, 
and particularly old orchards in which the trees are partially 
decayed. He makes his nest in a hollow branch, where per- 
haps a Woodpecker had a domicile the year before ; but he is 
a pugnacious character, and if he happens to fancy one of the 
boxes that have been put up for the Bluebirds he does not 
hesitate to take it. He is usually received with favor, and is 
not slow to avail himself of boxes, gourds, tin cans, or empty 
jars placed for his accommodation. 
As regards food habits, the House Wren is entirely bene- 
ficial. Practically, he can be said to live upon animal food 
alone, for an examination of 52 stomachs showed that 98 per 
cent, of the stomach contents was made up of insects or their 
allies, and only 2 per cent, was vegetable, including bits of 
grass and similar matter, evidently taken by accident with the 
insects. Half of this food consisted of grasshoppers and 
beetles ; the remainder of caterpillars, bugs, and spiders. As 
