The Nuthatch 



The general colour of the upper parts is bluish grey, but 

 all the tail feathers, except the central pair, are blackish, 

 barred and tipped with white and grey. A black stripe 

 runs through the eye from the base of the bill. The under 

 parts are pale rufous shading to chestnut on the flanks and 

 under- tail coverts. Length 5*7 in.; wing 3*4 in. 



The female and young are rather duller in colour. 



THE WREN 



Troglodytes parvulus, K. L. Koch 



There must be few people who have not heard a long 

 and clear song sounding almost at their side, when walking 

 along some garden path or along the edge of a wood, and on 

 investigation have found that this song, so disproportionate 

 in volume to the size of the bird that utters it, proceeds 

 from one of the smallest of our birds, the Wren. Skulkins^ 

 as a rule in the thick hedge bottom, among undergrowth in 

 woods, or in a tangle of brambles on a common, he will 

 suddenly hop on to an outstanding spray, rattle off his little 

 song, and then with quick whirring beats of his wings dive 

 into the undergrowth again a few yards off. Always bright 

 and perky as he hops along, with his short tail held up at 

 right angles to the body, he searches for any small seeds or 

 insects which he can find, and as he appears so cheerful, 

 even in the most severe weather, it is not surprising that he 

 has won a way to our hearts, and next to the Robin is the 

 most favoured bird in England. The nest is a beautiful 



83 



