THE COMMON WREN 143 



spot to repeat its music, and not infrequently it will 

 commence to sing whilst flying, finishing the song 

 after alighting. This song is a somewhat uneven and 

 jerky one, but contains not a few remarkably clear 

 and sweet notes, and is concluded with a rapid trill, 

 the whole ending abruptly as if the performer had 

 been disturbed in the middle of it. 



The Wren is not quite such an early breeder as 

 some of our resident birds, and does not as a rule 

 begin nesting until April. The breeding-grounds 

 are much the same as the general haunts. In some 

 cases at any rate the Wren pairs annually, rather 

 early in the spring, but in others there is strong 

 evidence to suggest that a life-long union is formed. 

 The handsome nest is built in a very great variety 

 of situations — in bushes and thickets, amongst ivy, 

 suspended from a drooping branch, wedged under 

 an overhanging bank in a crevice of the bare soil or 

 rock, concealed among thatch or in the side of a 

 hay-stack, or in wood-stacks or among the exposed 

 roots of trees. Possibly every reader may be able 

 to name an additional site. The materials of the 

 nest vary almost as much, and to a great extent are 

 selected with a view to harmony with the surround- 

 ing objects. According then to the special circum- 

 stances the nest, which is globular, is made externally 

 of moss, of fern-fronds, dead leaves, dry grass or 

 lichens ; the interior is lined with moss, hair and 

 Tea hers, the latter varying a good deal in quantity. 

 Round the entrance-hole are neatly interwoven 



