Long-Billed Marsh Wren's Nest Made of Filamentous Algae
Long-billed Marsh Wrens ’ Nest Made of Filamentous Algae.-The common filamentous algae, chiefly of the genus Spirogym, which in early summer blanket the shallows of many of the smaller British Columbian lakes, are important in the economy of these waters. Both the floating and the submerged masses harbor numerous small animals upon which birds feed; the algae are sometimes an important constituent in the nests of grebes and appear occasionally in the nests of Coots, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and other marsh-nesting birds.
A nest of the Long-billed Marsh Wren (Telmatodytes palustris) , composed of approximately 95 per cent tilamentous algae and 5 per cent dry bulrush material was examined at 103 Mile Lake, Cariboo District, on July 2, 1942. It was of normal proportions and was fastened to eight stems of bulrush (Scirpus s vallidus). The lax, green stems were bent down by the weight of the nest which was unlined and contained no eggs.-J. A. MVNRO, Okanagun Landing, British Columbia, October 27, 1942.
