COMMON WREN. 151 



suspended from a long slender branch, usually of an 

 evergreen, a yew by preference. It is also often made 

 under an overhanging bank, wedged close in a crevice 

 of bare soil or rock ; amongst thatch, especially the roof 

 of a linhay, in wood-stacks, and amongst exposed roots 

 of trees, and in stumps in the hedgerows. As the Wren 

 depends a good deal on mimicry for the concealment 

 of its nest, the external materials vary a good deal in 

 character. According to circumstances, the nest is made 

 outwardly of moss, dead fronds of fern, withered leaves, 

 dry grass, and lichens ; internally it is composed of moss, 

 hair, and feathers. The latter materials, however, are not 

 always used, and vary a good deal in quantity. Round 

 the entrance-hole a {q.\v straws, round dry grass-stalks, 

 roots, and twigs are interwoven with the other materials, 

 thus strengthening the structure in the part which is 

 subject to the most wear and tear. The female alone is 

 the architect, and often a fortnight is taken to build the 

 nest. The Wren is a close sitter, and often becomes 

 very noisy when the nest is menaced. This species will 

 forsake its unfinished nest more readily than any other 

 bird known to me. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Wren are from four to six, and more 

 rarely eight, in number (sixteen young birds, however, 

 have been recorded from a single nest, which seems 

 almost incredulous). They are white in ground colour, 

 more or less sparingly marked with brownish-red and 

 grayish-brown. The markings vary a good deal in 

 amount, some eggs are spotless, others have few and very 

 faint markings, whilst more rarely varieties are hand- 

 somely freckled with spots and specks, most of them 

 usually forming a zone round the larger end. Average 

 measurement, 7 inch in length, by '52 inch in breadth. 

 They vary considerably in size and shape. Incubation, 



