Winter wren

“ That on the right leads by a roundabout way to the "corner," where one may see the sunset. The next, straight in front, is the passage to the nest of the winter wren. The far left invites one to a wild tangle of fallen trees and undergrowth, where veeries sing, and enchanting but maddening warblers lure the bird-lover on, to scramble over logs, wade into swamps, push through chaotic masses of branches, and, while using both hands to make her way, incidentally offer herself a victim to the thirsty inhabitants whose stronghold it is. ”

“ The strange, retiring winter wren is equally a lover of dead leaves. He plays with them in a less boisterous manner, but none the less delights in tossing them to and fro. It is at such a time that a few notes of his marvellous summer song occasionally escape him. The white-throated sparrows fairly dance among or upon the heaped-up leaves, and play bo-peep with the clouds of them they send aloft ”

“ The Winter Wren inhabits that part of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, breeding chiefly north of the United States and migrating at the approach of winter nearly or quite to the Gulf of Mexico.
This diminutive form of bird life, which is also called Bunty Wren and Little Log Wren, is a denizen of the forest, and it is more common in those forests found on bottom lands adjacent to rivers. It is a shy bird, and does not seek the intimacy of man as will its cousin, the house wren. It is seldom seen far above the ground. ”

“ Occasionally a winter wren, with his comical tail and delicate manners, calls on his way somewhere, and makes a pleasing variety in the appearance of the visitors. He eats all he needs of the bread crumbs before leaving, unless some sudden movement within startles him. ”

“ It is a pity they should not stay with us all winter, these pleasant little friends of ours, like the European wren, who never migrates, and sings all the year round. It is true, among the half dozen varieties which visit us, there is the winter wren, who remains during the cold weather in some parts of the State; but we do not see him here after the snow has fallen, and at best he appears much less musical than the summer bird. Our common house-wren is a finer singer than the European bird ”

“ The Winter Wren, nowhere very abundant, seems to be distributed over the whole of North America. Hardly distinguishable from the common Wren of Europe, it can scarcely be considered as distinct. The habits of our species certainly seem to be very different from those assigned to the European bird, which in England appears to be as common and as familiar a bird as even the Redbreast. The small size and retiring habits of our species, as well as its unfrequent occurrence, and only in wild places, combine to keep its history in doubt and obscurity. ”

“ We can hardly help asking how it is that two birds so very closely related as the house wren and the [Pg 89] winter wren should have been chosen haunts so extremely diverse,—the one preferring door-yards in thickly settled villages, the other keeping strictly to the wildest of all wild places. But whatever the explanation, we need not wish the fact itself different. Comparatively few ever hear the winter wren's song, to be sure (for you will hardly get it from a hotel piazza) , but it is not the less enjoyed on that account. There is such a thing as a bird's making himself too common ”

“ The Winter Wren builds its nest in the matted roots of an overturned tree, in brush-heaps, in moss-covered stumps, or on the side of a tree trunk. It may be attached to a ledge of rock, and is occasionally found in some unoccupied building, especially if it be a log hut in the woods. ”

“ I presumed that the thrush, at least, had a nest not far off, but after a little search (the mosquitoes were still active) I concluded not to intrude further on his domestic privacy. I had heard the wren's famous song, and it had not been over-praised. But then came the inevitable second thought: had I really heard it? True, the music possessed the wren characteristics, and a [Pg 148] winter wren was in the brush; but what proof had I that the bird and the song belonged together? No; I must see him in the act of singing. ”

“ Now they frequent only the retired woodland tracts. Various insect-eating birds continually come and go, attracted by the food they find in the decayed wood, but the house-wren remains throughout its summer sojourn here—that is, from April to October; while during the colder months the winter wren takes the other’s place. ”

“ It is fond of the wilderness and has as yet learned no necessity of dependence upon man, but it by no means shuns the edges of town, if only sufficient density of cover be provided. Because of the more open character of pine timber, the Winter Wren is less common and is altogether local in its distribution east of the mountains, being confined for the most part to those forest areas which boast an infusion of fir and tamarack. ”

“ The mocking wren would be a great acquisition to our northern river banks and bushy streams. It is the largest of our wrens, and in the volume and variety of its notes and the length of its song season surpasses all others.
A lover of nature never takes a walk without perceiving something new and interesting. All life in the winter woods or fields as revealed upon the snow, how interesting it is. I recently met a business man who regularly goes camping to the Maine woods every winter from the delight he has in various signs of wild life written upon the snow. ”

“ In winter it has been found in all the Gulf States, from Florida to Texas.
According to Nuttall, this Wren has a lively and quaint song, delivered earnestly and as if in haste, and at short intervals, either from a tuft of sedge or from a low bush on the edge of a marsh. When approached, the song becomes harsher and more hurried, and rises into an angry and petulant cry. In the early part of the season the male is quite lively and musical. These Wrens spend their time chiefly in the long, rank grass of the swamps and meadows searching for insects, their favorite food. ”

“ Kilda wren, and as there is a native wren, or local race or Troglodytes parvulus, in every county, in every village and farm-house and wood and coppice and hedge in the United Kingdom. He is a home-keeping little bird, and when you find him, summer or winter, in town or country, you know that he is a native, that his family is a very old one in that part and was probably settled there before the advent of blue-eyed man and the dawn of a Bronze Age.
He is universal, and that gives one the idea that he is very evenly distributed ”

“ Few birds can be quiet under such insults; and the winter wren is not one of them. There is nothing phlegmatic about his disposition. He is like some beings of a higher class: it takes very little to set him in a flutter. ”

“ In this country the wren is a resident and seldom wanders far from its home, a habit which has resulted in the birds inhabiting some of our outer islands, like St. Kilda, becoming recognisable as distinct from the mainland form. In winter, however, our native stock receives considerable additions from the Continent, but a return migration in spring has not been noticed.
The whole bird is of a uniform reddish brown, rather lighter on the chin and throat, minutely barred with black. There is a dull white streak over each eye. ”

“ Some fifteen species are recognized in North America, of which the most familiar and widely distributed is the House-Wren (Troglodytes ædon) . These are bold, sociable and confiding birds, seemingly to prefer men’s society, building their nests in bird boxes that are erected for them, or in the most unexpected situations about buildings. They are one of the most beneficial birds that can be attracted to one’s yard, feeding wholly upon insects. Their songs are loud, clear and bubbling over with enthusiasm.
Wrens breed north to Maine and Manitoba and winter along the Gulf Coast. ”

“ Those who have passed the winter in the country, are sensible of the delightful influences that accompany the earliest indications of spring; and of these, none are more delightful than the first notes of the birds. There is one modest little sad-colored bird, much resembling a wren, which came about the house just on the skirts of winter, when not a blade of grass was to be seen, and when a few prematurely warm days had given a flattering foretaste of soft weather. ”

“ It is matter of curious inquiry to trace out how those species of soft-billed birds, that continue with us the winter through, subsist during the dead months. The imbecility of birds seems not to be the only reason why they shun the rigour of our winters; for the robust wryneck (so much resembling the hardy race of wood-peckers) migrates, while the feeble little golden-crowned wren, that shadow of a bird, braves our severest frosts without availing himself of houses or villages, to which most of our winter birds crowd in distressful seasons, while this keeps aloof in fields and woods ”

“ Common summer resident; from plains to 10,000 feet; raises two broods, sometimes three.
722. Winter wren. Anorthura hiemalis. Rare resident; no nest found. [Pg 343]
725a. Tulé wren. Cistothorus paludicola. Summer resident; not uncommon; breeds from plains to 8,000 feet; some remain all winter in hot-water swamps.
725c. Western marsh wren. Cistothorus palustris plesius. Summer resident; not uncommon locally.
726b. Rocky Mountain creeper. Certhia familiaris montana. Common resident; in breeding season confined to the immediate vicinity of timber-line, where some remain the year round. ”

“ Some prefer winter, some summer; some like the heat, some like the cold. Only in one thing do we agree, and that is, in our taste for variety, for change. Much as we admire the country, lovely as it is, it would not suit many to live there all the year round. ”

“ Migrations—A common resident except at northern boundary of range, where it is a summer visitor.
This largest of the wrens appears to be the embodiment of the entire family characteristics: it is exceedingly active, nervous, and easily excited, quick-tempered, full of curiosity, peeping into every hole and corner it passes, short of flight as it is of wing, inseparable from its mate till parted by death, and a gushing lyrical songster that only death itself can silence. It also has the wren-like preference for a nest that is roofed over, but not too near the homes of men. ”

“ In one side of this green grassy globe they leave an entrance through which to carry the finer grasses for the lining and the down from last season's bursted cat-tails. When a nest is finished, its entrance is often cleverly concealed. If there are several feet of water below the high and dry cradle, so much the better, think the wrens—fewer enemies can get at them; but they do sometimes build in meadows that are merely damp. In such meadows the short-billed marsh wren, a slightly smaller sprite, prefers to live. ”

“ Where red-winged blackbirds like to congregate in oozy pastures or near boggy woods, the little short-billed wren may more often be heard than seen, for he is more shy, if possible, than his long-billed cousin, and will dive down into the sedges at your approach, very much as a duck disappears under water. But if you see him at all, it is usually while swaying to and fro as he clings to some tall stalk of grass, keeping his balance by the nervous, jerky tail motions characteristic of all the wrens, and singing with all his might. ”

“ Yet the wren is a hardy little bird, a resident all the year round in the coldest parts of our country, and one of the few songsters which may be heard in all seasons. Even during a frost, if the sun shines, the wren will sing as gaily as in summer. His song is his greatest charm. It is unlike that of any other British melodist—a loud, bright lyric, the fine, clear, high-pitched notes and trills issuing in a continuous rapid stream from beginning to end. ”

“ It breeds throughout the United States, except for the South Atlantic and Gulf areas, and also nests in southern Canada. It winters in the southern United States and Mexico.
The rich, bubbling song of the familiar little house wren is one of the sweetest associations connected with town or suburban life. Its tiny body allows it to creep into all sorts of nooks and crannies for its insect food. A cavity in a fence post or porch roof, a wren box, a hole in a tree, will be welcomed as a nesting site. Their food is grasshoppers, beetles, bugs, spiders, cutworms, ticks, and plant lice. ”

“ The true story of the Wren is simple enough. It is a minute bird of unpretending plumage, distinguished easily by its erect tail and its habit of hiding in bushes and hedges, not clinging like the Creeper to the perpendicular or horizontal bough of a tree, but hopping from twig to twig, and occasionally taking a short direct flight to another place of concealment, but rarely exposing itself by doing more than this. When hunting for its food, which is considered to be almost exclusively insects, it searches diligently holes and crannies of all kinds, and in all substances. ”

“ She is a tiny bird, but her song is very loud, and sweet, and clear, and she may often be heard singing gaily even while the snow is falling. In the springtime the Wren builds her nest in the woods, choosing a place as near to the ground as possible, but later in the year she leaves her snug home and takes up her quarters under the eaves of houses, or as near as she can get to the dwellings of man. ”