NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



the bird on mealworms at the same 

 place, close to his nest and young ones, 

 morning by morning until he got into 

 the habit of visiting the top of that par- 

 ticular furze bush regularly in search of 

 his breakfast. 



The nest is built in the lower parts of 

 thick furze bushes, and is composed 

 of small, slender branches of furze, grass 

 stalks, bits of moss, and wool, with an 

 inner lining of fine grass and sometimes 

 a few hairs. 



The eggs number four or five, greenish- 

 or bumsh-white in ground colour, 

 speckled all over with dark olive-brown, 

 and underlying markings of grey. 



Although a bird of weak flight, the 

 Furze Wren is very active and nimble 

 when searching from bush to bush for 

 its food, which consists of flies, moths, 

 spiders, caterpillars, and other small deer. 



It has a hurried little song, which has 

 been described as " shrill and piping " 

 by one authority, and " an angry, im- 

 patient ditty, for ever the same," by 

 another. Early in the season it is deli- 

 vered whilst the singer is hovering in the 

 air like a Whitethroat, moving his head 

 from side to side and waving his tail in 

 all directions, but later more soberly 

 106 



