GREAT CAROLINA WREN. 
37 
FAMILY VI. TR0GL0DYTID2E. THE WEENS. 
Both mandibles of bill, more or less arched. Sternum, wide, but with the keel low, not being higher than one half the 
width of the sternum. Coracoid bones, fully as long as the top of the keel. Wings, short. Tail, moderate and 
considerably rounded. 
This family embraces birds of generally dull colors. All the American species are somewhat small in size. 
GENUS I. TROGLODYTES. THE WRENS PROPER. 
Gen. Ch. Feet, of moderate size. Tarsus, about equal in length to the middle toe and claw. Hind toe and claw, 
considerably shorter than the middle toe and'claw. No white spots or streaks on the back. 
The characters used by authors in separating the genus Tliriotliorus and Troglodytes are so slight, that it appears 
to me scarcely consistent to raise the species, usually placed in the former named, to a generic rank. Therefore I 
have included them in Troglodytes, for after carefully examining a large series of specimens, I find that there 
is no more difference between members of the two genera, than often exists among species in the same genus. 
TROGLODYTES LUDOVICIANUS. 
The Great Carolina Wren. 
Troglodytes Ludovicianus Litch., Verzeiehniss der Doubletten des Zoolog, 1832, 38. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Ch. Form, rather robust. Size, moderate. Bill, not very slender, and as long as the head, with the upper 
mandible a little curved and slightly notched. Sternum, quite stoutly built, with the keel very low. Tongue, thin 
and horny, long and linear, with the end divided or broken into irregular points. 
Color. Adult. Above, dark reddish-brown, brightest on the rump but becoming blackish on the head. Wings, 
brown, barred on the outer webs with the same color as the back, which becomes lighter on the first quills. Tail, 
like the back barred with dusky. There are concealed white spots on the rump near the ends of the feathers. 
There are also some concealed spots of yellowish-white on the middle and ends of the feathers of the back of 
the neck. A superciliary line of buff extends from the base of the bill along the sides of tthe neck, edged above with 
black. Beneath, yellowish-brown; darkest on the flanks. Throat, white. Under tail coverts, barred with dusky. 
There is also an indication of dusky bars on the flanks. Under surface of wings glaucous. Lower side of tail, like 
the back, but with a glaucous suffusion. Under wing coverts, yellowish, barred with dusky. There is a whitish 
patch on the lower side of the ear coverts; and a few dusky spots on the neck back of it. 
Young, similar, but with the upper wing coverts spotted with white. The dusky bars on the flanks are quite 
conspicuous, and sometimes extend along the sides. There are also more spots back of the ear coverts. Sexes, 
alike. Irides, brown. Bill, brown; lighter at the base of the lower mandible. Feet and tarsi, brown. The above 
descriptions are taken from Florida specimens. Wrens of this species, now before me, which were collected in 
Western Virginia by Mr. W. W. Scote, differ in being much paler; the under parts being pale buff. A young one 
taken when scarcely fledged exhibits very little difference in coloration. The under parts are perhaps a little more 
rufous. There is no average difference in the length of the bill between Mr. Scote’s specimens and those from 
Florida. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
This species is readily distinguished from the T. Berwickii by the rufous under parts. Habitat is throughout the 
Eastern United States, from about latitude 41°, south to the gulf. They winter in the more southern sections. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of twenty-three specimens from Florida.—Length, 5-80; stretch, 7-25; wing, 2-35; tail, 
2T2; bill, *71; tarsus, -81. Longest specimen, 6*25; greatest extent of wings, 8'25; longest wing, 2-50; tail, 2-30; 
bill, -78; tarsus, -90. Shortest specimen, 5-30; smallest extent of wings, 7T0; shortest wing, 190; tail, 1-90; bill, 
•50; tarsus, -65. 
DESCRIPTION OF NEST AND EGGS. 
Nest composed outwardly of the fibrous substance which grows at the base of palmetto fronds, leaves or sticks 
lined with fine fibres. It is usually built in the form of a hollow ball, with a hole in the side. Dimensions; external 
diameter, 4 inches; internal, 2-50 inches. 
Eggs usually six in number; rather oval in form; creamy-white in color, spotted and blotched irregularly with 
reddish-brown and lilac. These spots vary greatly in number even in the same nest. For instance, one of a set 
which I have in my collection is covered so thickly that the ground color is nearly obscured, and the longer end is so 
thickly blotched as to look like a washing of reddish-brown and lilac, while there is another egg of the same lot, 
which is comparatively clear. The spots also show a tendency to cluster on some specimens and form rings around 
the larger ends. Dimensions, -74x-56 to -80x-60. 
