TROGLODYTID^— WRENS. 



95 



Family SITTID^. 



Nuthatch : Sitfa casia. 



A fairly-common resident throughout the county, especially in 

 Skreens, Audley End, Thorndon, Hylands, Danbury and other 

 parks, where the numerous ancient trees afford suitable nesting sites. 



Mr. Grubb and Mr. King both give it a place on their lists of Sudbury birds 

 (39 & 20). English includes it in his list of Epping Forest Birds (43. i. 24), and 

 Mr. Buxton says (47. 86) : " Frequent in the neighbourhood of Buckhurst Hill. 

 A neighbour of mine supplies them with nuts, which they carry off every morning, 

 invariably leaving the unsound ones." It is frequent at Stanway (Laver). At 

 Harwich it is scarce, but breeds (Kerry). 



In 1880, I exhibited before the Essex Field Club (43. i. 69) a strange mass of 

 dry mud which had been deposited by a Nuthatch in an old Thrush's nest, built 

 in a large yew tree in the park at Audley End a year or two previously. The 

 lump of mud, which has been presented by Mr. Travis to the Club museum, 

 was very, hard and completely filled the Thrush's nest, except that a hole had been 

 left down the centre, exactly as if the Nuthatch had been plastering up the 

 entrance to its nesting hole. It almost seems as if the Nuthatches had com- 

 mitted this strange freak " for practice." 



Family TROGLODYTIDiE. 



Wren : Troglodytes parvidus. Locally, " Diddy Wren," 

 " Jenny Wren," and " Tiddy Wren." 

 An abundant resident. 



the Essex name of " Tiddy " or " Tid- 



Swainson 

 ley Wren " is 

 diminutive size. 

 (39), "Three or 



says 



(48. 35) that 

 n allusion to its 

 Mr. Grubb says 

 four years ago a 



nest of young Wrens hatched in our 

 garden [at Sudbury] were of a very 

 light cream-colour. » » They very 

 soon disappeared and were seen no 

 more." About the year 1886 a 

 keeper at Lexden shot a Hooded 

 Crow and hung it up to a tree by a 

 piece of wire to swing in the wind as 

 a warning to its fellows. In the 

 spring of 1888, a pair of Wrens built 

 their nest of oak leaves within its 

 hollow carcase, and therein safely 

 reared their brood (50. ii. 205 & iii. 

 23). The accompanying cut shows 

 the nest in question. * 



WREN, Yi. 



* Curiously enough, my friend, Mr. Arthur Midgley, of Saffron Walden, has an almost 

 exactly similar case. A pair of Great Tits built their neit under exactly similar circumstances, 



