6 BIRDS OF ICELAND 



approach to the Faeroe bird. The Northern Wren in 

 Iceland has always been a puzzle to me. Every one 

 knows about it, and a good many Icelanders believe 

 they have seen it with more or less frequency — and 

 the knowledge which Icelanders have of their country's 

 birds in general puts to shame the average attainments 

 in this line of English country-folk, gentle as well as 

 simple. But on my occasional visits during the last 

 fifteen years, I have never been able to catch a glimpse 

 of this bird, nor of even an old nest. And though I 

 offered ten kroner for the bird, or the nest with eggs, 

 for years, it was all in vain. One Icelander informed 

 me that it nested in birch trees at some height from 

 the ground — but he was no doubt confusing it with 

 the Mealy Eedpoll. Another sent me with great con- 

 fidence a nest and eggs, which proved on arrival to be 

 those of a Meadow Pipit. 



The last historical occurrence I could find was that of 

 William Proctor, once curator of the Durham University 

 Museum, who taught me to stuff birds in my youth. 

 In his quaint manuscript Journal, which Professor 

 Newton kindly lent me recently, the following entry 

 occurs: 'Tusday 1st August (1837) I started for 

 Granstaer (GrenjaSarstaSir) as it is called (from 

 ReykjaliS, apparently) and shot some Ptarmigan and 

 Little Wren and two Merlin Hawks on my way.' He 

 observes a little further on : ' Kittiwren length 4f inch 

 breadth 7J inch.' 



I was unwillingly coming to the conclusion that 

 the Iceland wren must be, at all events, verging on 



