Our Orj)-rjARi)KN Birds. 147 



about the yard and generally ocnipics the sunimcr- 

 wrcn's haunts, but adds to thcni a ran^c alon^ tlic 

 hill-sid(-, where, anion^^ vviltcd weeds, mossy j^round, 

 and tangled nocAs, it is really more at liome. Iwery 

 winter I find them in the fjld pj.irden about the fences 

 and the shrubbery alon^ them. Their exits and 

 entrances are made with wonderful celerity, and not 

 so much as a chirp, for hours at a time. I love best 

 to see them about the old bridge and the bush- 

 hidden brofjk that crosses the lane. They dart fear- 

 lessly where other birds proceed with care ; they 

 come and ^o like feathered sunbeams, regardless of 

 ob.stacles, and all too rarely pause a moment in their 

 career to warble .some trifle from their matchless 

 summer son^s. Like the Carolina wren, which is, 

 happily, a fixture here, this little brown fellow is 

 f(;nd of spiders, and is often found, [)articularly after 

 snow-storms, about the stable and cow-.shed.s, search- 

 ing for them ; but it must have exceedingly sharp 

 eyes, for the coveted spiders are generally hiber- 

 nating, and why any should .show them.selves when 

 there are no ijisects flying is a mystery. Here, how- 

 ever, come the wren.s, and there is not a nook or 

 a cranny that they do nrjt probe. Somehow, some- 

 where, these birds mu.st find sufficient food, for they 

 never droop. They are as active in March as in 

 October, and leave u.s, 1 doubt not, in as good con- 

 dition as when they came. 



Do the Carolina wrens recognize in them a sort 

 c)i poor relatic^n that they have reason to dislike? 

 There is generally a sIkjw oi quarrelling when they 

 4 



