THE WREN. 257 



places. It is a plain homely looking little bird of a pale 

 chestnut brown colour. Captain Brown gives the following 

 interesting description of a wren's music lesson. 



A Wren's " A pair of wrens, " says Captain Brown, " built 

 Music Lesson, their nest in a box, so situated that the family on 

 the grounds had an opportunity of observing the mother's care 

 in instructing her young ones to sing. She seated herself on 

 one side of the opening of the box, facing her young, and 

 commenced by singing over all her notes very slowly and 

 distinctly. One of the little ones then attempted to imitate 

 her. After chirping rather inharmoniously a few notes, its 

 pipe failed, and it went off the tune. The mother immedi- 

 ately took up the tune where the young one had failed, and 

 distinctly finished the remaining part. The young one made 

 a second attempt, commencing where it had left off, and con- 

 tinuing for a few notes with tolerable distinctness, when it again 

 lost the notes; the mother began again where it ceased, and 

 went through with the air. The young one again resumed 

 the tune and completed it. When this was done, the mother 

 again sung over the whole of her song with great precision; 

 and then another of the young attempted to follow it, who 

 likewise was incapable of going through with the tune, but the 

 parent treated it as she had done the first bird; and so on 

 with the third and fourth. It sometimes happened that the 

 little one would lose the tune, even three or four times in 

 making the attempt; in which case the mother uniformly 

 commenced where it had ceased, and always sung to the end 

 of the tune; and when each had completed the trial, she 

 always sung over the whole song. Sometimes two of them 

 commenced the strain together, in which case she pursued 

 the same conduct towards them, as she had done when one 

 sung. This was repeated at intervals every day, while they 

 remained in their nest." 



The The American House Wren is described by 



House Wren. Audubon as a cheery familiar little bird, resem- 



17 



