In color and contour these timid birds are peculiarly adapted to their habitat. When erect and motionless it requires a keen eye to separate them from surrounding reeds. They are extremely partial to favorite localities and continue to frequent such places even after Man has built houses around the area. Their presence in such urban spots often is unsuspected, so shy and retiring are the Birds. Several pairs nested within a few feet of a railroad which ran from Brooklyn to Canarsie and left only when the land was drained. They tread the maze of reeds with extraordinary ease, shooting the head forward with every accurately placed step.
Among their enemies is the pugnacious little Marsh Wren who frequently pierces their eggs when they are laid within the Wrens' sacred precincts.
North America from southern Canada southward.