The herald., 1895-01-13

THE VIC III 5 WihN.
THO Visor'4 wrsa IL an abuuds7t bird
ID VI Pa eiean "a wja;a5, sAeu it ie
ne laly ee4n ia un ierhSutN, Oh cnrel 2
doi1 ~ a1jut, wi.h f4l crest. II has
= los, hSr;ii call. wi On ml1a5 cHa
aGaYa OF ia prsaeuce l3n% bsi1fe ~ e ID
la segn. iHi4 wreN faureH 10 tne iaonn-
tnins to breed, and / h,gs never seen IL
doHn hare III tbs SIMMER knoa very
little concsrninS the breeding ha0!s Of
thin bird. II has a vary pleasing cong
in the spring, whlch assemblies thet OF
the song sparrow. | found nearly gtown
young on Eeho mountain, Jane lu.b, &c
that these wrens must b gin ne8t!ay in
April.
was told thu other dly OF Nigoy'a
wren's nest being fjuad N an old stove,
at an abandoned camp in the Sierra
Msdres
Tho Vigor's wren is the western rep
resentative of the Bewick's wren, which
ia common in some eastern statea. 1t
is also similar to the great Carolina
wren, which ia abundant from Tenneaase
and the Carolinas southwark.
The Pnrkman'a wren is hardly dis
tingushsble in color and size from the
common eastern house wren, but il
hasn't the familiarity and tamsness Of
that bird. 1t is seldom seen awav from
the wild woods and caiions whore it
makes ita home. This bird is only 8
summer resident. arriving in april and
leaving ia September or October. As
soon as the Parkman wren comes in the
eprng, he hunts about for "a suitable
nesting place. This species of wren
eelects some sheltered cavity, such as
an old woodpecker's hole, or the natural
hollow OF aome tree. Ii the cavity be
deep he fills it up to the entrance with
sticke. leaving bowl-shaped hollow in
the center. This hollow he lines with
feathers and soft vegetable materials
and also what 10 very remarkable, cast
off snake skin. This last constituent OF
the nest is invariably present. l have
noticed that the snakeskin is nearly
always conspicuously placed SO that it
can be easily seen from without. Thus
any Jays or squirrels seeing it, and mis-
taking it for live snake, would quickly
beat q retreat where otherwise they
would not hesitate IN destroying the nest
and its contents. | see no other reason
for this peculiar habit.
There seems to be no preference as to
the height of the nest from the ground
lust. 30 the cavity is OF the right sort.
Seven or eight brown.spotted eggs are
laid.
PARKMAN's WREN.
The Parkman's wren has q short
jolly, warbling song which he utters
every few moments most of the day dur
ing April and May. AS soon as the
young are fully fedged these wrens take
to the low shrubbery, and until they
leave US in the fall are usually seen
searching diligently through brush piles
and tbickets for insects and spiders.
The Parkman'e wren seems to get along
pretty we'll in this world and he is sell
dom imposed upon. II he coveta the
home of any other bird he has no COM
punctions in driving it out and taking
possession himself, that is if he can.
OUR RARE5T BIRDS.
The western winter wren is our rareet
wren, and have not as yet tsken a
specimen. But I have aeen it close
enough to be able to identify it without
doubt. This wren is similar to the
Parknsn's wren, but is smaller and
browner. 1t breeds mostly north OF the
United States in the arctic regions, and
therefore is only winter tourist come
here to escape the icy blizzards.
The rock wren, resembling the canon