THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 31 
The most common one of the family is the 
House Wren. He is found all over the Kastern 
States. In the Western States the same bird, 
except in the shade of his coat, is called the 
Western House Wren. 
The house wren 1s fond of a snug place for a 
nest. Ifa wren box is to be had, he will take 
that; but if not, he will seek some cozy nook, 
which he will furnish, mostly with fine twigs, 
and then wait for his mate to appear. 
Sometimes the bird takes queer places to live 
in. I once found a wren family inside a hollow 
iron hitching-post in a city street. The birds 
went in through the hole for the hitching-strap. 
I wondered how the wrenlings would get out 
through the long, dark passage. Another nest 
was made in an oriole’s hanging cradle, after the 
young orioles had flown. It was filled up with 
sticks to make it suitable for baby wrens. One 
that I found last summer was in a hole in a gate- 
post. 
The place is usually chosen by the male, who 
stuffs it full of fine twigs, and then sings and 
calls for his mate to come. He will sing hour 
after hour his sweet little song, stopping every 
few minutes to bring another stick to add to his 
store. 
The wren is a droll fellow about one thing, — 
