A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 1 of 3Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Science
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 1 of 3
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Birds -- North America
The eggs of the Wren, usually from seven to nine in number, are of a
rounded-oval shape, at times nearly as broad as long. Their
ground-color is white, but they are so thickly studded with markings
and fine spots of reddish-brown, with a few occasional points of
purplish-slate, as to conceal their ground. Their shape varies from
nearly spherical to an oblong-oval, some measuring .60 by .55 of an
inch, others with the same breadth having a length of .67 of an inch.
Under the name of _Troglodytes americanus_, or Wood Wren, Mr. Audubon
figured and described as a distinct species what is probably only a
somewhat larger and darker form of the present species, hardly
distinct enough to be treated even as a race. Mr. Audubon met with an
individual near Eastport in 1832. The young were following their
parents through the tangled recesses of a dark forest, in search of
food. Others were obtained in the same part of Maine, near
Dennisville, where Mr. Lincoln informed Mr. Audubon that this bird was
the common Wren of the neighborhood, and that they bred in hollow logs
in the woods, but seldom approached farm-houses.
In the winter following, at Charleston, S. C., Mr. Audubon again met
individuals of this supposed species, showing the same habits as in
Maine, remaining in thick hedges, along ditches in the woods, not far
from plantations. The notes are described as differing considerably
from those of the House Wren. It has not been seen by Mr. Boardman,
though residing in the region where it is said to be the common Wren.
Professor Verrill mentions it as a rare bird in Western Maine.
Mr. Charles S. Paine, of Randolph, Vt., is the only naturalist who has
met with what he supposes were its nest and eggs. The following is his
account, communicated by letter.
“The Wood Wren comes among us in the spring about the 10th
or 15th of April, and sings habitually as it skips among the
brush and logs and under the roots and stumps of trees. In
one instance I have known it to make its appearance in
midwinter, and to be about the house and barn some time. It
is only occasionally that they spend the summer here
(Central Vermont). The nest from which I obtained the egg
you now have, I found about the first of July, just as the
young were about to fly. There were five young birds and one
egg. The nest was built on the hanging bark of a decaying
beech-log, close under the log. A great quantity of moss and
rotten wood had been collected and filled in around the
nest, and a little round hole left for the entrance. The
nest was lined with a soft, downy substance. I have no doubt
that they sometimes commence to breed as early as the middle
of May, as I have seen their young out in early June.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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