THE FAERY YEAR 



Architect and Artifice 



Does the wren sometimes, often, ever, in build- 

 ing a nest, choose such material as, by closely 

 matching the environment, masks it from a curious 

 eye ? I have paid attention to this subject for years, 

 but, the more I see and think of the wren's wonder- 

 ful architecture, the less I can indulge in the luxury 

 of conviction. A little while ago I thought I had 

 reached the conclusion that the wren's nest often 

 matches its environment simply because the bird 

 builds with the material lying immediately about. 

 Thus a series of wrens' nests found in brown dead 

 brake fern were all made outwardly of bits of brown 

 dead brake fern. Inside was dry green moss, which, 

 as an outer cover, would not have assimilated closely 

 to environment. 



Similarly all long-tailed tits' nests which I found 

 in the forks of main limbs of ash trees a site 

 which the bird often chooses were lined with grey 

 lichen, picked, no doubt, from the ash limbs. Here, 

 again, assimilation. Thirdly, I took note of nightin- 

 gales' nests, made of dead brown oak and maple 

 leaves, set on ground thickly strewn with such 

 leaves. In each case pliable and good building 

 material is lying close at hand. "Naturally," one 

 might say, "the birds build with these materials. 

 Why should they go further and fare worse ? Why 

 imagine that deliberately, or by unconscious heredi- 

 tary habit, the builders take trouble to make their 

 nests like the matter around them ? " These three 

 144 



