38 Birds Every Child Should Know 



and retiring you will probably never become 

 well acquainted with it. It delights in mossy, 

 rocky woods near running water. But a larger 

 chestnut brown cousin, the Carolina wren, with 

 a prominent white eyebrow, a bird which is quite 

 common in the Middle and Southern States, 

 sometimes nests in outbuildings and in all sorts 

 of places about the farm. However, he too 

 really prefers the forest undergrowths near 

 water, fallen logs, half decayed stumps, and 

 mossy rocks where insects lurk but cannot hide 

 from his sharp, peering eyes. Now here, now 

 there, appearing and disappearing, never at 

 rest, even his expressive tail being in constant 

 motion, he seems more nervously active than 

 Jenny Wren's fidgety husband. 



Some people call him the mocking wren, 

 but I think he never deliberately tries to imitate 

 other birds. Why should he? It is true that 

 his loud-ringing, three-syllabled whistle, " Tea 

 ket-tle, Tea-ket-tle, Tea-ket-tle/' suggests the 

 crested titmouse's " peto'' of two syllables, but 

 in quality only ; and some have thought that his 

 whistled notes are difficult to distinguish from 

 the one-syllabled, but oft-repeated, long-drawn 

 quoit of the cardinal. These three birds are 

 frequently to be heard in the same neighbour- 

 hood and you may easily compare their voices ; 

 but if you listen carefully, I think you will not 

 accuse the wren of trying to mock either of the 



