40 
TROGLODYTES HYEMATAS. 
DESCRIPTION OP NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, built in holes of trees or in bird boxes. Composed of pieces of grape-vine bark, sticks and weeds which 
usually completely fill the cavity iu which it is placed, leaving a hole in the centre which is thickly lined with feathers 
or fine strips of bark. Dimensions.—The external diameter varies with the space which contains the nest; one 
which I have before me, that was collected for me by Mr. Ruthven Deane, measures about four inches externally 
and two internally. 
Eggs, usually rather oval in form, pinkish-white in color, thickly dotted with reddish-brown. These minute spots 
sometimes become confluent and cover the entire surface with a deep washing of the same color. The larger ends 
of such species are very apt to be darker than the remainder of the egg. I am indebted to Messrs. Deane and 
Brewster for the privilege of examining the large series of eggs of this species which they have in their cabinets. 
HABITS. 
One can scarcely pass a thicket throughout the entire extent of Florida from Key West to the 
northern limits of the state, whether on the borders of the hummock or in the vast pine barrens, 
without exciting the ire of the irascible House Wrens. They will suddenly start up at the feet 
of the pedestrian and, alighting' on a log or bush, scold him angrily; but if the birds think they 
are iu danger, will quickly disappear, then it requires rapid and thorough beating to make them 
rise. There are many thickets on the mainland which are so impenetrable that birds are 
perfectly safe from intruders yet on the keys they are particularly favored in this respect, for 
there the various species of cacti form an excellent cover for them. These plants are armed 
with many long spines which present a formidable barrier against the invasion of man or any 
large animal. Thus in Florida we find this Wren keeping apart from mankind and his ways, 
but in New England they usually pursue a different course. Here they associate with human 
beings, building their nests in boxes erected for them, and even if these tiny edifices are placed 
in close proximity to the busy thoroughfare the birds may be seen perched on their roofs, singing 
their uncouth melodies. The House Wrens will occasionally select a hole in a tree as a breeding 
place; even in the North I observed a pair several times about an old apple tree, which stood in 
a remote place and, being aware that they had a nest there, made repeated search for it; but, 
after vainly looking in every hole which I thought they could enter, gave up in despair. 
But on passing the place one day I saw the female emerge from a very small orifice in a high 
limb which was not larger around than my arm, and upon examining found the nest concealed 
in it. The House Wrens breed in New England about the first week iu June, in Florida 
somewhat earlier. They are constant residents in the South but migrants at the North, arriving 
in the spring about the first of May and departing in early October. 
TROGLODYTES HYEMALIS. 
Winter Wren. 
Troglodytes hyemalis Vieillot, Nouv. Diet, xxxiv, 1819, 514. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Cii. Form, not stout. Size, small. Bill, much shorter than the head, slender, and but slightly curved. 
Tail, short and rounded. Sternum, rather weakly built, with the keel very low in comparison to the breadth. Tongue, 
linear, with the end, in nestlings, rounded, slightly bifid and fringed with cilia. In older specimens it is divided into 
four points like that of the preceding species, only the space between the two central^ ones is not as deeply cleft. 
In adult birds the tip becomes broken into irregular points. 
Color. Adult. Above, reddish-brown; darkest on the head, ligliest on the rump. Upper surface of wings, 
dark brown, barred on the outer webs with dusky. Tail above, similar to the back, tranversely lined with dusky. 
Upper wing covei'ts and sides of neck spotted with white. The nape and rump have concealed spots of white. 
Beneath, yellowish, which is lightest on the throat, but becomes rufous on the sides, flanks and abdomen, which 
are crossed with black and white wavy lines. Under tail coverts, marked with rufous, black and white. There is a 
yellowish-white superciliary line. The ear coverts are mixed with dusky. Under portion of the tail, similar to the 
upper but a little paler. Under wing coverts, whitish, barred with dusky. Lower surface of wing, glaucous. 
