8 Baby Birds at Home 



The Willow Wren, or Willow Warbler, 

 as it is frequently called, is a migratory 

 bird, arriving in April and departing again in 

 September. It is found all over the British 

 Islands wherever bushes and trees grow. 



It builds its nest on the ground amongst 

 coarse grass and weeds, on banks near 

 willow-fringed streams, in woods, on com- 

 mons, and almost anywhere and everywhere. 

 The structure is made of dead grass, moss, 

 leaves, and fern fronds, and is lined with 

 hair and feathers. It is domed or covered 

 over and has an entrance hole in front. 



The eggs, numbering from four to eight, 

 are white, spotted with pale rusty-brown. 



Baby Willow Wrens are very tiny and 

 frail when they emerge from the egg-shells, 

 but grow very rapidly. They have, how- 

 ever, many enemies. Not long ago the 

 writer saw a Willow Wren hovering, just 

 like a humming-bird, over the grass wherein 

 she had built her nest, and upon going 

 to the place found a large adder in the 

 act of swallowing her chicks. The reptile 

 had devoured four out of a family of six, 

 but speedily paid the penalty of its mis- 

 deeds. 



