82 THE USEFUL BIRDS 



Nest-building usually takes place in September, and the 

 house is generally placed within 3 or 4 feet of the ground, 

 occasionally in a thistle, but more often in some small bush. 



The period of incubation is 14 days, and the young fly 

 from the nest on the eighth to tenth day, though sometimes 

 remaining to the fourteenth. 



The brood of M. gouldi, the closely-allied species, is usually 

 three, consisting of one male and two females. 



The following notes, though applying definitely to M. 

 gouldi, practically pertain also to M. cyaneus : — 



Mr. Graham observed that more than one adult male will 

 attend a single brood of nestlings. Three nests of young were 

 brought from the forest and placed in three cages, somewhat 

 apart. Each nest had its female, which, in one case, was 

 attended by three males, in the second two, and in the third 

 one, all helping in the task of feeding the young. In the 

 first-mentioned case this was observed before the nest was 

 removed, and w^as continued for fourteen days after the 

 removal to new quarters, where the feeding was done through 

 the wires. 



Considering the large number of female Wrens, it seems 

 probable that young females pass the first year without 

 breeding. Unfortunately, broods of both species suffer much 

 from the depredations of foxes. 



M. gouldi is hatched out on the fifteenth day from the time 

 of the laying of the last egg. The eyes open on the sixth 

 day, the wings are feathered and fairly fledged on the seventh 

 to eighth days. 



The young birds are short-tailed when first leaving the 

 nest, the feathers rarely exceeding 1 inch in length. At the 

 end of the first month the tail seems to have attained its full 

 length. Young Wrens are then able to catch flies and other- 

 wise provide themselves with food, though they are still fed 

 by the parents Iqx another month or six weeks. 



