WRENS. FAMILY TROGLODYTIDÆ
CAROLINA WREN
Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus. [Case 4]. Fig. 64
Largest and most brightly colored of our Wrens. Note the buff or whitish line over the eye. L. 5½.
Range. Gulf States north to Connecticut and Iowa; non-migratory. The Florida Wren (T. l. miamensis) a slightly larger, more richly colored form, inhabits Florida from Palatka southward.
Washington, common P.R. Cambridge, rare or casual. N. Ohio, tolerably common P.R.
The Carolina Wren is a bird of the woods, whose loud, musical whistles are among the most conspicuous of southern bird notes. They suggest those of both the Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse, but are more varied in character. A common scolding call is recognizably wren-like, while another suggests a tree-toad's krrring. The nest is built in holes, in April. The 4-6 eggs are white with numerous reddish brown and lavender markings.
BEWICK'S WREN
Thryomanes bewicki bewicki
Size of the House Wren, but with the tail nearly half an inch longer; its outer feathers tipped with gray.
Range. Mississippi Valley from the Gulf States to southern Michigan; rare east of the Alleghanies.
Washington, rare and local T.V., Mch. 26-July-; may winter, Nov. 24-Dec. 22.
A house Wren of the States west of the Alleghanies with a tail that seems to be at the mercy of passing breezes, and a song resembling the Song Sparrow's, but louder. Its nesting habits resemble those of the House Wren. The 4-6 eggs, laid in April, are white speckled with reddish brown and lavender.
HOUSE WREN
Troglodytes aëdon aëdon. [Case 4], Fig. 63; [Case 6], Fig. 70
No introduction is needed to this feathered tenant of many bird-lovers. L. 5.
Range. Nests from Virginia and Kentucky to Canada; winters from South Carolina and lower Mississippi Valley to Mexico.
Washington, common S.R., Apl. 13-Oct. 11. Ossining, common S.R., Apl. 23-Oct. 14. Cambridge, formerly abundant S.R., Apl. 28-Sept. 25; now rare and local. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 17-Oct. 5. Glen Ellyn, S.R. in isolated pairs; Apl. 26-Oct. 13. SE. Minn., common S.R., Apl. 27-Sept. 18.
The familiar inhabitant of our bird-houses whose numbers seem limited only by the nesting-sites we offer him. His little fountain of melody bubbles forth irrepressibly to cheer his mate or challenge a rival. With the exhaustless energy of their kind they fill their nest-box with twigs, grasses and feathers, wherein are laid 6-8 minutely and evenly speckled pinkish eggs.
WINTER WREN
Nannus hiemalis hiemalis. [Case 2], Fig. 58
Smaller than the House Wren; underparts brownish, flanks and belly finely barred. L. 4.
Range. Nests from northern New England and Central Michigan north to Canada and, in the Alleghanies, south to North Carolina; winters from the Northern States to the Gulf.
Washington, rather common W.V., Aug. 10-May 1. Ossining, tolerably common W.V., Sept. 18-Apl. 27. Cambridge, T.V. uncommon, Sept. 20-Nov. 25; rare, Apl. 10-25; a very few winter. N. Ohio, tolerably common. W.V., Sept. 14-May 17. Glen Ellyn, fairly common T.V., Apl. 1-May 10; Sept. 9-Nov. 7. SE. Minn., common T.V., rare W.V., Sept. 22-Apl. 3.
The Winter Wren comes to us from the North when the House Wren leaves for the South and remains with us until the House Wren returns in the spring. But one by no means takes the place of the other. The Winter Wren is a wood Wren that lives in fallen tree-tops, old brush-piles or similar retreats, and his nervous chimp, chimp, as with cocked-up tail he hops into view for a second, is like the call of the Song Sparrow rather than the scolding note of most Wrens; nor does his rippling, trickling song resemble the House Wren's sudden outburst.
The nest is built in the roots of a tree or similar location. The 5-7 eggs, laid in early June, are white, finely, but rather sparingly speckled with brownish.
SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN
Cistothorus stellaris. [Case 8], Fig. 80
Smallest of our Wrens; the head and back streaked with white. L. 4.
Range. Nests from central Missouri and northern Delaware to Saskatchewan and southern Maine; winters from southern Illinois and southern New Jersey to the Gulf.
Washington, very rare T.V., two instances, May. Ossining, rare S.R., to Oct. 16. Cambridge, formerly locally common S.R., May 12-Sept. 25; now chiefly T.V. N. Ohio, rare, May 12, 14, 16 and 19. Glen Ellyn, fairly common S.R., May 8-Oct. 17. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 13-Sept. 19.
Although we have only six species of Wrens in the eastern United States, they are so unlike in their choice of haunts that few localities which will afford them the hiding places they all love are without one or more of them. The House and Bewick's Wrens make their homes near ours; the Carolina and Winter Wrens prefer the woods; the Long-billed Marsh Wren's haunts have given him his name, and if we should call the present species Meadow Wren, its home would be similarly indicated, for it lives in wet, grassy places rather than among the cat-tails.
Ernest Seton describes its note as resembling the sound produced by striking two pebbles together, while its song is a series of chaps, running into chap-r-r-rrr. The globular nest is built on the ground, and the 6-8 eggs, laid in May, are usually pure white.
LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN
Telmatodytes palustris palustris. [Case 8], Fig. 79
Darker and larger than the Short-billed Marsh Wren, with a blackish brown crown and white stripe over the eye. L. 5¼.
Range. Nests from Virginia to Canada; winters from southern New Jersey to South Carolina. Worthington's Marsh Wren (T. p. griseus) is the form of the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida. Marian's Marsh Wren (T. p. marianæ) is found on the more southern Atlantic coast and on the Gulf coast of Florida; while the Prairie Marsh Wren (T. p. iliacus) nests in the Mississippi Valley east to Indiana north to Canada, and winters along the Gulf coast. Where two races may be expected to occur together (for example, in the South, during the winter) field identification of the various races may be left to experts and the average observer must be content with plain "Marsh Wren."
Washington, very numerous S.R., Apl. 15-Nov. 1. Ossining, common S.R., May 10-Oct. 28. Cambridge, locally abundant S.R., May 15-Oct. 1; sometimes a few winter. N. Ohio, common S.R., Apl. 21-Sept. 20. Glen Ellyn, fairly common S.R., May 16-Oct. 10. SE. Minn., common S.R., May 5-Sept. 9.
As well look for pond lilies on a rocky hillside as a Marsh Wren outside a marsh. Give him cat-tails for cover and to support his bulky nest and he is at home. His scolding notes betray his ancestry and his reeling, rippling song, delivered both from a perch and on fluttering wings above the reeds, suggests in form, at least, that of the House Wren. The 5-9 eggs, laid in early June are uniform chocolate or thickly marked with brown.