WRENS. 



The wrens {Trogloditidm) belong to one of the high- 

 est famihes of the oscines. They have many of the 

 characteristics of the thrushes, with which some of them 

 were formerly classified, having like them ten primaries, 

 and being endowed with much of the vocal power for 

 which the thrushes are so justly celebrated. In structure 

 they differ from the latter by having scutellate tarsi 

 and a basal cohesion of toes. Their food is similar to 

 that of the creepers and nuthatches, with which they 

 are often found in company. Some of them also, like 

 the nuthatches, build in knot-holes and crevices, placing 

 the nest out of sight. 



N^o other family except the sylvicolidse have such 

 diverse habitat, some of the genera making their summer 

 haunts in marshes, some in lawns and orchards, and 

 others in deep woods. 



The marsh wrens, among reeds and rushes along the 

 lakes and river shores, with their gurgling melodies, 

 break the monody of the rippling waters, and add a 

 charm to the often otherwise lonely scene ; the friendly, 

 sociable little house wrens sing in fields and gardens, 

 in orchards and along dusty highways; while the 

 winter wrens are the sylvan fairies of the woods which 



