10 DT. HeE *A-U.D-U'B\ON@B U: Eile laa 
“Because of the difficulty of discovering exactly what transpires in the 
dark feather-filled recesses of the eighteen-inch long nest, little information 
is available as to the exact length of the incubation and fledging periods. 
Both parents seem to share the nesting duties equally, bringing insects 
and worms of various kinds to the young at frequent intervals.” 
The Cactus Wren gives frequent, almost incessant, loud, rasping calls 
on the same note. The effect varies with the listener and with the distance. 
“Close by there is considerable roughness and harshness in its voice, which 
becomes mellowed by distance.” But this wren, unlike other wrens, is a 
poor songster. The song is heard throughout the year, more in spring than 
in winter. 
The wren of the desert is a fine insect hunter. His fare includes many 
destructive insect pests, as well as a few weed seeds. The proportion of 
vegetable food is larger than in other wrens. Its diet consists of about 
83% of animal matter to 17% of vegetable. The animal proportion of the 
food appears to be obtained predominately from the ground. 
The Cactus Wren is said to have insatiable curiosity. “All packages, 
receptacles, cracks, and crannies must be looked into and anything inside 
pulled out if possible.” This bird is resident in the deserts of southern 
California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Texas. It 
is also said to be the wren most likely to be seen in Mexico. 
927 Brummel Street, Evanston, Illinois 
ff ft ia ft 
Mrs. KR. A. Strong, 1876-1962 
WE REPORT WITH DEEP regret the death of Mrs. Mary Ethel Strong, 
86, wife of Dr. R. M. Strong, Honorary President of the Society, in 
Chicago on December 5, 1962, after a long illness. Mrs. Strong was 
the daughter of the late Chief Justice Henry V. Freeman of the 
Illinois Appellate Court. She had an abiding interest in art and 
natural history, serving as the first President of the Hyde Park Art 
Center. 
A life-long resident of the Hyde Park-Jackson Park area, Mrs. 
Strong was graduated from the University of Chicago in 1901. She 
often recalled that the area south of the Midway was once a dense 
woods, where she sometimes went to gather flowers with a daughter 
of William R. Harper, first president of the University. Members of 
the Society knew her as the white-haired, dignified lady with a 
friendly smile who always accompanied Dr. Strong to the Audubon 
Screen Tours at the Museum. Those of us who visited the Strong’s 
summer home at Traverse City, Michigan, well remember her warm 
hospitality and the beautful garden of wild flowers and ferns she 
maintained around their little cottage. We extend our sympathy to 
Dr. Strong; his wife will be missed by everyone. 
