Editing Marsh wren (section)

== Nesting ==
The [[Bird nest|nest]] is an oval structure attached to marsh vegetation, entered from the side. The male builds many unused nests in his territory. A hypothesis of the possible reason to why males build multiple "dummy" nests in their territory is that they are courting areas and that the females construct the "breeding nest" in which she lays her eggs.<ref>Metz, Karen J. “The Enigma of Multiple Nest Building by Male Marsh Wrens.” Jan. 1991, pp. 170–173.</ref> He may puncture the eggs and fatally peck the nestlings of other birds nesting nearby, including his own species (even his own offspring) and [[red-winged blackbird]]s, [[yellow-headed blackbird]]s, and [[least bittern]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/308|title=Marsh Wren (''Cistothorus palustris'')|last1=Kroodsma|first1=Donald E.|last2=Verner|first2=Jared|year=1997|editor=A. Poole|work=The Birds of North America Online|publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology|access-date=2013-03-03}}</ref> The [[Clutch (eggs)|clutch]] is normally four to six [[Bird egg|egg]]s, though the number can range from three to 10.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Marsh_Wren_dtl.html |title=All About Birds: Marsh Wren |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=2008-07-20}}</ref> The eggs are usually 0.6-0.7 inches in length and 0.4-0.6 inches in width.<ref name=":0" /> Incubation is performed only by females, and only females develop a brood patch.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Verner|first=Jared|title=Breeding Biology of the Long-billed Marsh Wren|year=1964|pages=19}}</ref> Marsh wren young can get infected by pathogenic larvae.<ref name="jwildlifedis.org">Warren, Yvonne. "Protocalliphora Braueri (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Induced Pathogenesis in a Brood of Marsh Wren (''Cistothorus Palustris'') Young". ''Journal of Wildlife Diseases'', 17 Mar. 1993, {{doi|10.7589|0090-3558-30.1.107}}.</ref> The Blowfly larvae infect the young by subdermal myiasis-induced lesions and subsequent sepsis.<ref name="jwildlifedis.org"/> The larvae form a wound in the young by rasping and expanding a hole in their skin to create blood flow and feed on the blood of the hosts' body.<ref name="jwildlifedis.org"/>