THE WTvENS. 



.i-^' 





Tire \viiEX. 



The iipst of the "Wren is ciiviously constructed of moss lined with feathers, its sliape 

 being almost oval, with one small entrance only. It is most frequently made in some 

 corner of an out-house, stack of wood, or hole in the wall, near the dwellings of men ; 

 but when the wren builds in the woods, it is commonly in a bush near the ground, or on 

 the stump of a tree, but it is sometimes made on the ground. It is vorj' remarkable, 

 that the materials of the nest arc generally adapted to the place where it is formed : if 

 against a hay-rick, its exterior is composed of ha}' ; if against the side of a tree clad with 

 white lichens, it is covered with the same substance ; and again, if it is built against a 

 tiee covered with green moss, or in a bank, its exterior alwaj-s corresponds in api)earance. 

 The wren does not, as is usual with most birds, begin the bottom of its nest first ; when 

 it is made against a tree, it begins by tracing the outline on the bark, and thus fastens 

 it with equal strength to all parts. 



The peculiarities of the manners of the wren have often been remarked. Audubon has 

 described it in terms which appear to be universally applicable to all the varieties of the 

 species. "Its tail," he says, " is almost constantly erect ; and before it starts to make 

 the least flight, it uses a quick motion, which brings its body almost in contact with the 

 object on which it stands. The quickness of the motions of this little bird is fully equal 

 to that of a moixse : it appears, and is out of sight in a moment ; peeps into a crevice, 

 passes rapidly througli it, and shows itself at a different place the next instant. These 



* Svlvia Troglodytes. — Peiin. 



