110 



BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN. 



THE WRENS. 



The elegant little wrens, in their suits of brown and drab, 

 belong to a small family (Troglodytidce) of highly insectivo- 

 rous birds. The saucy HOUSE-WREN is much the most familiar 

 representative. It occurs throughout the United States, from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific, the western being considered a 



THE HOUSE-WREN. 

 (After Biological Survey.) 



distinct geographical race. In the Northern States it is migra- 

 tory, spending the winter in the South. It nests about barns 

 and dwellings in almost any situation, and is easily encour- 

 aged by putting up nesting-boxes. The house-wren is a very 

 useful bird to have searching constantly for insects in the 

 shrubbery of the ornamental grounds, the trees of the orchard, 

 or the vines of the garden. Its diet appears to be exclusively 

 insectivorous ; including on its bill of fare larvae and caterpil- 

 lars of many kinds, as well as ants, grasshoppers, gnats, bee- 

 tles, bugs, spiders, and myriapods. Professor Aughey repeat- 



