WREN. 239 



There is little need to describe the small, stump- tailed Wren ; 

 it is almost as familiar 'as the Robin ; on the Pennines it is 

 happily called " Stumpy." Yet it is so small and mouse-like, 

 so easily lost sight of when it is hunting for food, that many 

 count it rare. It is everywhere, from the tops of the highest 

 moors to the sea- coast. Its movements as it creeps or climbs 

 are incessant rather than rapid ; its short flights swift but not 

 sustained ; its tiny round wings whirr with misty vibration as 

 they carry it from bush to bush. It is a bird of the breezy 

 uplands, even in winter ; it will slip amongst the wiry stem.s of 

 the heather when snow lies thick above, vanishing into gloomy 

 caves, a troglodyte indeed. It frequents the gardens, hopping 

 about the flower-beds or disappearing suddenly behind the ivy 

 on the walls ; in the farm and stack-yard it examines every 

 nook and cranny for hidden insects ; but it is quite as abundant 

 in the thick woods, alike amongst the tree roots and tangled 

 undergrowth. The rushes round the meres harbour a few in 

 winter ; these marshy spots provide food when other places 

 fail. 



Poets and sentimentalists talk of the shy and retiring Wren ; 

 really it is indifferent to our presence. Incessant activity and 

 zeal in search for those creatures whose existence depends upon 

 concealment takes it into the depths of ivy, hedge or under- 

 growth, but from no desire to hide itself; indeed it will hunt 

 readily in full view, creeping with sharp tit-it-it over the rockery 

 or bank. When annoyed or excited its call runs into an 

 emphatic churr — not unlike the reel of clockwork running down. 

 Its song is a gushing burst of sweet music, loud and emphatic 

 as the rattle of the Chaffinch ; it has an " enormous " voice for 

 its size. In volume as well as quahty of song individuals vary, 

 but the efforts of a full-voiced Wren are surprising ; the song 

 often begins with a few preliminary notes, then runs into a trill, 

 sometimes slightly ascending, and ends in full clear notes or in 

 a second trill. At all and any season the song may be heard, 



