84 AN ELUCIDATION OP THE THREE BRITISH TREK LINGS. 



ter. Mr. Sweet says that he once saw one so early as the 12th of 

 March, and it has been thought that those which are seen so early 

 must, like the Goldcrested Kinglet, have remained in Britain 

 through the winter. The Hedge Treeling is easily taken in a trap, 

 and will soon become tame in confinement. Mr. Sweet recommends 

 that, when caught, they should, as soon as possible, be put with 

 other birds, and fed on bread and bruised hemp seed, and bread and 

 milk, which must, at first, be sprinkled with aphides shaken on it 

 from a branch. One that was treated in this way became so fami- 

 liar that, in three or four days it would take a fly out of the hand, 

 and also drank milk from a tea-spoon, of which it was so fond that 

 it would fly after it all round the room, and perch on its owner's 

 hand, without the slightest appearance of timidity. It never at- 

 tempted to escape when the windows were open, but would sleep 

 on its owner's knee by the fire. It was at last, with difiiculty, 

 enticed out at the door, with a spoon of milk ; it returned twice to 

 the room, but the third time it ventured into a little tree. It then 

 flew to its owner, and, after drinking some milk, it resorted to some 

 wet chickweed, from which, after washing itself, it flew into a holly 

 bush hard by, and began preening its feathers. After this, it was 

 seen no more, though its voice was heard several times : it was sup- 

 posed that it left the country as soon as it had thoroughly dried 

 itself, for all the other birds of the same species had departed, it 

 being the end of November. A correspondent of Loudon's Mas;a- 

 zine of Natural History mentions a new way of successfully rearing 

 birds of the Treeling family, by giving them vermicelli, boiled for 

 about ten minutes in water. He thus reared a nest of Hedge 

 Treelings, without any other food whatever, during the first week. 

 Two of them, however, were killed by a cat, and the third was so 

 hurt and frightened by bloody grimalkin's murderous attack that it 

 never looked up afterwards, but died in a few weeks. " Nothing, 

 however,*' says the correspondent, '' could be more lively than the 

 survivor of the four : active, elegant, and sprightly, with an eye 

 quick as thought, this little charmer flitted about his cage like a 

 tiny winged mouse, almost too quick for the eye to follow." The 

 nest of the Hedge Treeling is, like that of the preceding, formed of 

 an oval shape, arched at top, with a lateral opening, and placed on 

 the ground. It is a very loose structure, and may frequently be 

 seen, in collections, with the side placed uppermost ; thus giving it 

 the appearance of being an open-topped structure, instead of being 

 domed, like that of the Ivy Wren. It is generally on the ground^ 

 and often under an old tree-stump ; and would generally escape de- 



