THE WREN. 



YOU have all laughed af the old woman who lived 

 in a shoe ; but to a House Wren this would not 

 seem so strange a home. Let me tell you a few of 

 the odd nesting places this bird has chosen. 



Generally she builds in a hole in a tree or in a bird 

 box, but almost anything which is hollow inside seems 

 to do. One nest that I saw was in the broken end of 

 a waterspout. Instead of water coming out of it, the 

 little wrens slipped in and out, carrying sticks and 

 straws for a nest. 



Another bird thous^ht the inside of an awnine 

 would make a fine home, but when the middle of the 

 day came, the awning had to come down to shade the 

 windows, and all the rubbish rolled out. The next 

 morning the bird was up early, and before noon had 

 collected another mass of sticks. Day after day the 

 wren kept up the attempt, declining to make use of 

 a box which was nailed up near by. 



Perhaps the strangest story comes from Washing- 

 ton. A workman hung his coat up for a little while, 

 and when he took it down and put his hand in the 

 pocket, he was astonished to find sticks and feathers 

 in it, and even more so when a wren appeared near 



