SONG-BIRDS. Wrens

Eggs: 6—8, pure white, finely dotted with purple and brown. Range: Eastern North America generally, wintering from Massachu- setts southward.

The Winter Wren is one of the group of tiny birds that enliven December, January, and February. It is more common than it appears to be, for it is the most retiring and shy of its family. Though it Will sometimes nest near dwellings, it prefers seclusion, and especially the proximity to running water. Mr. Otto Boehr writes of the breeding- habits of this “Iran in Sullivan County, Penn. : “We found his nest but once. It was built on the side of a mossy log that laid across a small run in a dark, rocky place. The nest was composed entirely of moss, with the entrance at one side near the bottom; it contained six eggs, which resem- bled those of the Chickadee. The eggs were fresh; time, July 4.”

Burroughs considers that its song is surpassed by very few, being of a gushing, lyrical character, uniting brilliancy and plaintiveness.

Short-billed Marsh Wren: Oistothorus stellaris.

Length: 4.50 inches.

Male and Female: Above brown. Crown and part of back streaked with black and white. Wings and tail barred. White line over eye. White beneath, washed with rusty across breast and along sides. Very short hill, dark above, light below; feet brown.

Song: “ ’Che, ’chet, de-de-derde—de 1"

Season : Early May to late September.

Breeds : In all but most southerly parts of its range.

Nest: Among the grasses of marshy meadows ; it is made of grass and always softly lined; closed over the top, with the entrance at one side. It may be either suspended between rushes, or be placed on the ground in a tussock, away from the water.

Eggs: 6—9, pure white.

Range: Eastern United States and southern British Provinces, west to the Plains. Winters in the Gulf States and southward.

The Shortbilled Marsh Wren is a bird of moist meadows

and reedy places. As a summer visitor it is erratic and 85 t