i68 Family Troglodvtid.c 



FAMILY TROGLODYTID^. 



THE Wrens are represented in Great Britain by one species only ; the 

 St. Kilda Wren, to which Mr. Seebohm gave the name of T. hirtensis, 

 being now considered a mere local variation, and inseparable from some 

 of those found on the Continent. 



Dr. Sharpe regards the Wrens as a mere Subfamily of the Timeliidce (Babbling 

 Thrushes) remarking,* "In their habits and in their form the Wrens are essentially 

 Timeliine. They possess the strong, even clumsy, legs and concave rounded wings 

 which distinguish this group of birds, and they do not migrate, as a rule. The 

 nests are generally domed, and hence one of the reasons for retaining the Dippers 

 in the family. The principal characteristic, however, of a Wren, and one that 

 separates them from the true Timeliine birds, is the almost entire absence of 

 rictal bristles." 



Seebohm, on the other hand regards the Wrens as aberrant Tits ; so far as I 

 can make out, solely on the ground that their eggs are almost identical : he admits 

 that they are " Timeliine in their habits, skulking in underwood, and wdthout 

 undulation in their flight." 



Doubtless the affinities of the Wren are rather Timeliine than Parine ; but 

 most students of British Birds are not familiar with Bulbuls, Shamas, and the 

 like ; moreover, if they were, they would probably fail to see any resemblance 

 between the long-tailed, stout-billed, conical-crested Persian, or Red-vented Bulbuls, f 

 and our stumpy little cock-tailed Wren, whilst the cave-like nest of the latter, if 

 it be an argument in favour of the affinity of the Dipper to the Wrens, must also 

 argue against the close relationship of the Bulbuls to the latter birds. 



The most convenient plan, therefore, seems to be that adopted by Mr. Howard 

 Saunders — to regard the Wrens as a Family rather than a Subfamily. 



* "Cataloj;ue of Birds," vol. VI, p. l8o. 



f The crests of these birds are not ragged, as usually shown iu illustrations, but Ibrui a regular 

 unbroken line at the back. 



