104 THE WREN. 



Water.^ I have noticed that it holds its tail down when it 

 sings on the branch of a tree. 



The nest is comparatively large for the size of the 

 bird, and is covered with a dome, having a small hole at 

 the side for entrance. It is usually built of green moss, 

 lined with hair and feathers, but the materials for the outside 

 depend upon the situation in which it is found, which varies 

 greatly. 



Among the dwellings framed by birds, 



In field or forest, with nice care. 

 Is none that with the little Wren's 



In snugness may compare. 



WORDSWOKTH. 



It is sometimes placed against the trunk of a tree, in a 

 mossy bank, or amongst the roots of alders or other bushes 

 by the side of a stream ; and I have seen it in the thatch of an 

 old shed. The Wren occasionally chooses very odd situations 

 for her home. A remarkable case of this kind was lately 

 brought under my notice by Mr. Peter Cowe, Lochton, near 

 Birgham, who informed me that, in the spring of 1869, a 

 gamekeeper in his neighbourhood shot a carrion Crow, which 

 he nailed up against a tree, the nail being driven through 

 the head, and the Crow left hanging suspended from the 

 nail, with its breast in contact with the bark. In the 

 summer of 1870, a "Wren's nest, with nine young ones, 

 was discovered inside the skeleton of the Crow, the 

 entrance being next the tree ; and as the back, wings, and 

 tail feathers of the Crow remained upon the skeleton, it 

 could not be seen from the outside. Mr, Cowe has the 

 skeleton of the Crow, with the nest in it, preserved in his 

 collection of Berwickshire birds. It is well known that more 

 nests of this species are built than are used for the reception 

 of the eggs and young, a peculiarity regarding its breeding 



1 Hist. Ber. Nat. Club, vol. viii. p. 100. 



