Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds 
Short-billed Marsh Wren 
(Cistothorus stellaris) Wren family 
Length — 4 to 5 inches. Actually about one-third smaller than the 
English sparrow, but apparently only half its size. 
Male and Female — Brown above, faintly streaked with white, 
black, and buff. Wings and tail barred with same. Under- 
neath white, with buff and rusty tinges on throat and breast. 
Short bill. 
Range — North America, from Manitoba southward in winter to 
Gulf of Mexico. Most common in north temperate latitudes. 
Migrations — Early May. Late September. 
Where red-winged blackbirds like to congregate in oozy 
pastures or near boggy woods, the little short-billed wren may 
more often be heard than seen, for he is more shy, if possible, 
than his long-billed cousin, and will dive down into the sedges 
at your approach, very much as a duck disappears under water. 
But if you see him at all, it is usually while swaying to and fro as 
he clings to some tall stalk of grass, keeping his balance by the 
nervous, jerky tail motions characteristic of all the wrens, and 
singing with all his might. Oftentimes his tail reaches backward 
almost to his head in a most exaggerated wren-fashion. 
Samuels explains the peculiar habit both the long-billed and 
the short-billed marsh wrens have of building several nests in 
one season, by the theory that they are made to protect the sit- 
ting female, for it is noticed that the male bird always lures a 
visitor to an empty nest, and if this does not satisfy his curiosity, 
to another one, to prove conclusively that he has no family in 
prospect. 
Wild rice is an ideal nesting place for a colony of these little 
marsh wrens. The home is made of sedge grasses, softly lined 
with the softer meadow grass or plant-down, and placed in a 
tussock of tall grass, or even upon the ground. The entrance is 
on the side. But while fond of moist places, both for a home 
and feeding ground, it will be noticed that these wrens have no 
special fondness for running water, so dear to their long-billed 
relatives. Another distinction is that the eggs of this species, 
instead of being so densely speckled as to look brown, are pure 
white. 
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