Home › Volumes › Bird Homes › Part I. — Open Nests in Marshes, Reeds, Saw-grass, and Low Bushes in Open Country

Long-billed Marsh Wren; Cistothorus palustris (Wils.)

Adult--Upper parts very dark brown or nearly black, the rump being a reddish brown or chestnut; white line from the bill over the eye, and white streaks on the back; under parts dusky gray or whitish. The young birds have the breast light yellow. Length--5.20.

Breeding Range--Throughout the Eastern States northward to Massachusetts.

The nest is built of reeds, grasses, weeds, and sometimes mud, with the lining either of grass or plant down, the seed from the cat-tails being frequently used. It is globular, often rather long and narrow, with very irregular outline; the entrance, which is on the side, is in some nests almost concealed; the reeds or grass to which the nest is attached form part of the structure itself, being interwoven with the other materials. Swamps, even where the water is several feet in depth, are the places most often selected for the nesting, but damp meadows are not infrequently chosen.

The number of eggs ranges from 5 to 8 and rarely 9. They are so thickly covered with spots and blotches of various shades of brown that in most cases the white ground colour is entirely obliterated. Size--.65x.49.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren is generally to be found in swamps of either brackish or fresh water, and there he and his mate may be seen during the breeding season, industriously feeding, building nests (for they build many that are apparently never used), singing while perched on the top of a cat-tail, or scolding the intruder, but never for a moment quiet.

The nests may be found within a few inches of the ground, or in tall reeds eight feet or more clear of either ground or water.

The accompanying photograph shows the young bird at the time of leaving the nest, its brothers and sisters having already left.

The eggs are laid about the third week in May.