

THE TAILOE-BIRD. 



271 



fell upon the saucer (if food, and immediately seemed to influence the Wrens, who came 

 hopping and flying nearer and nearer, nntil they were bold enough to taste the food. For 

 several days the geranium blossoms were used as a decfiy, but the little birds soon became 

 so familiar that they needed no such allurement, and woidd crowd round the saucer as 

 soon as it was placed on the ground. 



In the pages of the above-mentioned writer a curious anecdote is related, where a pair 

 of flycatchers M'ho had made a nest and laid three eggs were ousted by a pai-ty of young 

 Wrens just able to fly. The little 

 liirds had probably been ejected 

 from liome for the first time, and 

 seeing so comfortable a nest, had 

 taken possession of it. I have 

 often observed the same conduct 

 in many yoimg canaries, for when- 

 ever a family of the newly-fledged 

 birds is turned out of the nest, tliey 

 generally wend their way to the 

 home of some otlier female, and 

 instal themselves in possession of 

 her nest and eggs before she is 

 aware of their intentions. 



The title of "Kitty Wren," 

 which is often given to this bird, 

 is owing to the peculiar little twit- 

 tering sound of Chit! chit! which 

 it utters while engaged in the pur- 

 suit of food. 



The colour of the Wren is a 

 rich reddish-brown, paling con- 

 siderably on the under surface fif 

 the body, and darkening into dusky 

 brown upon the quill-feathers of 

 the wings and tail. The outer webs 

 of the former are sprinkled with 

 reddish-brown spots, and the short 

 tail-feathers are barred with the 

 same hue. The bill is slender, 

 and rather long in proportion to 

 the general dimensions of the bird. 

 The total length of the AVren is 

 rather more than four inches. 

 White and pied varieties are not 

 uncommon. ^ ^ ^_^ ^ .,.^,, „^ ^^, 



We now arrive at the very — «»<miiii «- 



large family of the Warblers, a tailoe-bikh.— oi(Acito»iu^ longiA^auiius. 



group in which the genera, when 

 taken together, number more mem- 

 bers than those of any other 



family. The first sub-family is that which is known by the name of the Malurincc, or 

 soft-tailed Warblers. 



The first example of the soft-tailed Warblers is the celebrated Tailor-bird of India 

 and the Indian Archipelago. There are many species belonging to the genus Orthotomus, 

 and as they all possess similar habits, there is no need of describing more than the 

 example which has been shown. They are pecirliar birds, haunting cultivated grounds, 



