WRENS: ROCK WREN 
547 
passed him he ran out across the rock face with spread tail, and wings 
partly open and trailing, giving a low cheering note. And at short 
intervals I heard his fine song ringing through the woods. The female 
ceased her labors once and sat for a few minutes in the warm sun to 
preen her feathers, finally resting for some time with eyes partly 
closed, apparently almost asleep.” When the Doctor first examined 
the nest, although it was empty, the female remained on it as he 
climbed noisily over the rocks and until he had nearly touched her. 
The nest was a bulky one, measuring eight inches across the base and 
being about three inches high. “The foundation,” he noted, “was 
composed of a dozen or more small twigs, upon which were placed 
moss and masses of spider webbing with bits of leaves, catkins and 
bud scales. The lining was composed of a heavy felting of sheep’s 
wool, most of it white, though a few bits of dark brown wool were 
mixed through it. In addition . . . were a few feathers of Great 
Horned Owl, Violet-green Swallow, and Cassin’s Finch” (1920a, pp. 
410-411). At the famous Carlsbad caves, early in spring, Mr. Bailey 
found a pair roosting down in the ladder shaft, but later, when more 
people climbed the ladders, they moved to the great doorway of the 
big cave. Nests were found in the roofs of several caves. 
A nest that was found by Mr. Ligon at 6,300 feet on Chloride 
Creek was near the canyon bed but well protected under a hanging 
rock. Though both parents were “busy feeding the youngsters, still 
the male found time for occasional songs” (MS). Sometimes the song 
is given when the bill is bristling with the wings and legs of insects 
collected for the brood in the nest. 
Even the approach of winter does not silence the little Wren’s 
rapturous song, and when one is traveling through his country during 
the autumn, it may be heard almost daily. High up in the Mogollon 
Mountains one was singing, even after the first snows had fallen. 
In his home the Canyon Wren is more often heard than seen, for 
among towering cliffs and deep canyons his tiny form is often invisible 
among the rocks, while his loud bugling voice rings out triumphantly. 
Scale-bird, he has been well called, for his clear liquid notes drop down 
the chromatic scale. They are preluded and concluded with a short 
flourish of grace notes, but the vibrant ringing scale is what 
one remembers. 
Additional Literature.—Miller, 0. T., A Bird-Lover in the West, 72-74, 
86-89, 1894.— Torrey, Bradford, Nature’s Invitation, 280-283, 1904. 
ROCK WREN: Salpmctes obsoletus obsoletus (Say) 
Plate 59 
Description. — Length: 5.1-6.3 inches, wing 2.7-2.S. Adults: Upperparts dull 
grayish brown , finely flecked with black and white dots; rump light brown, tail 
graduated , tipped with buffy brown, and with subterminal black band; middle tail 
