WREN. 



165 



reference to the depth of the nest, and the number of young 

 ones bywhich it is sometimes occupied, — for it is said that as 

 many as sixteen have been found in one nc&t, — a remark by 

 Willughby has been thus paraphrased by Grahame in his 

 poem on the birds of Scotland, — 



" But now behold the greatest of this train 

 Of miracles, stupendously minute ; 

 The numerous progeny, claimant for food 

 Supplied by two small bills, and feeble wings 

 Of narrow range ; supplied — ay, duly fed — ^ 



Fed in the dark, and yet not one forgot ! 



The Wren produces two broods in the season. 



This little bird is generally dispersed over England ; and 

 Mr. Thompson informs me that it is common throughout 

 Ireland ; it is also found in Scotland, in Orkney, and in 

 Shetland. M. Nilsson says it is resident in Sweden ; and it 

 is by the Fabers considered as an inhabitant of the Faroe 

 Islands, of Iceland, and of Greenland. It is even more 

 abundant in the northern than in the central parts of Europe. 

 It is however resident in Spain and Italy all the year ; Mr. 

 H. E. Strickland says it is common at Smyrna ; and the 

 Zoological Society have received specimens from Trebizond. 



The beak is rather shorter than the head, slender, slightly 

 curved and pointed ; the upper mandible dark brown, the 

 under mandible pale wood brown ; the irides hazel ; over the 

 eye and ear-coverts a streak of pale wood brown ; the top of 

 the head, neck, and back, reddish brown, barred transversely 

 with narrow streaks of dark brown ; the feathers of the wings 

 and tail rather more rufous in colour than those of the back, 

 and the dark bars are more distinct ; the greater wing-coverts 

 with three or four small, round, bead-like spots of white ; the 

 primaries barred alternately with tawny brown and black ; 

 chin and throat plain greyish buff, becoming more brown on 

 the belly ; flanks, and under tail-coverts, reddish brown, in- 



