76 NESTS AA'B EGGS OF BIRDS. 



49. THE HOUSE WREN- 



TROGLODYTES AEDQN, Viellot. 



Common Wren; Wood ^^ren. 



The t'aiiiiliar house wren is to l)e found in every part of the 

 United States cast of the Rocky viotintains^ although, like 

 many other common species, it is far more abundant in some 

 localities than in others. 



It arrives in PcnnsyKania in April, is seen in MassachuscLts 

 about the second week in Ma} , and reaches central Michif,ran, 

 where it is rare, about May 5. The wrens seem to l)e mated 

 when they reach tht' north, and proceed immediatclv to pick 

 out their homes. A whole volume miglit l)e i^i\en to anecdotes 

 of the curious places they have chosen t ) build in ; Dr. 

 Brewer has written most pleasantlv about it: 



The hollows of decaying trees, crevices hi rocks, or the centre of 

 meshes of interlacing vines, are their natural resorts. Tliese they 

 readily relinquish for the facilities offered in the society of man. They 

 are bold, sociable and confiding birds, and will enter into the closest 

 relations with those who cultivate their acquaintance, building their 

 nests from preference under the eaves of houses, in corners of the 

 Avood-shed, a clothes-line box, olive-jars, martin-boxes, open gourds, an 

 old hat, the skull of an ox placed on a pole, the pocket of a carriage, or 

 even the sleeve of a coat left hanging in an out-building. In the spring 

 of 1S55. ^ pair of these wrens nested within the house and over the door 

 of the room of the late Robert Kennicott, where they raised their broods 

 in safety. They built a second nest on a shelf in the same room, which 

 they entered through a knot-hole in the unceiled wall. At first shy, 

 they soon became quite tame, and did not regard the presence of mem- 

 bers of the laniily. The male bird was more shy than his mate, and 

 though equally industrious in collecting insects would rarely bring them 

 nearer than the knot-hole where the female would receive them. The 

 female with her brood was destroyed by a cat, but this did not deter the 

 mule bird from appearing the following season with another mate, and 

 building their nest in the same place. Another instance of a singular 

 selection of a breeding-place has been given by tlie same authority. 

 Dr. Kennicott. the father of Robert, a country physician, drove an old 

 two-wheeled open gig, in the back of which was a box, a foot in length 



