io6 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



The following account of the habits of the St. 

 Kilda Wren was the first published, and was con- 

 tributed by us to the Ibis : — " I had not been on 

 St. Kilda long before the little bird arrested my 

 attention, as it flew from rock to rock, or glided in 

 and out of the crevices of the walls. It diflers 

 very little in its habits from its congener; only, 

 instead of hopping restlessly and incessantly about 

 brushwood, it has to content itself with boulders 

 and walls. It was in full song, and its voice 

 seemed to me louder and more powerful than that 

 of the Common Wren. I often saw it within a few 

 feet of the sea, hopping about the rocks on the 

 beach ; and a pair had made their nest in the wall 

 below the manse, not thirty yards from the waves. 

 I also saw it frequently on the tops of the hills 

 and in many parts of the cliffs. It was especially 

 common on Doon, and its cheery little song 

 sounded from all parts of the rocks. As tliere are 

 no bushes nor trees on St. Kilda (except those the 

 microscopic eye of a botanist might discover), the 

 Wren takes to the luxuriant grass, sorrel, and other 

 herbage growing on the cliffs, and picks its insect 

 food from them. It also catches spiders and the 

 larviB of different insects in the nooks and crannies 

 which it is incessantly exploring. It is a pert, 



