44 HOUSE WBEN 



that bespeak the jealousy of his affection, con- 

 ducts him, with many rej^roofs, bej'ond the ex- 

 tremities of his territory, and returns to warble 

 out his transports of triumph beside his beloved 

 mate." 



As we watch the Bluebird, one of the most 

 noticeable things about him, in spite of his famil- 

 iar friendliness, is a certain untamable spirit of 

 the woods and fields. As he sits on a branch 

 lifting- his wings, there is an elusive charm about 

 his sad quavering tru-al-Iy, tm-al-hj. Ignoring 

 our presence, he seems preoccupied with unfath- 

 omable thoughts of field and sky. 



House Wren : Troglodytes atdon. 



Upper parts, wiugs, and tail brown, finely barred with black ; 



under parts whitish. Length, 5 inches. 

 Geographic Distribution. — Eastern North America ; breeds 



as far nortli as Manitoba and Maine ; and winters from South 



Carolina southward. 



Crows, Doves, Hummingbirds, Swifts, and 



Quail are all birds of strongly marked family 



characters, but Wrens are 



no less so. They are small 



brown birds that match the 



color of the earth, and creep 



\ , about in odd nooks and cran- 



"^^^"^^ nies searching diligently for 



^^' ' insects. As their daily round 



House Wren. . , t , i i i 



is not disturbed by soaring 



ambition, the Wrens have short, round wings like 



