16 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



HOUSE-WREN 



Troglodytes furvus 



Warm brown ; tail-feathers and outer webs of wing-feathers pen- 

 cilled with dark wavy lines ; beneath pale brown ; length 4.8 inches. 



THE common Argentine Wren is to all English 

 residents the " House- Wren/' and is considered to 

 be identical with the species familiar to them in 

 their own country. It is a sprightly little bird, of a 

 uniform brown colour and a cheerful melodious 

 voice ; a tireless hunter after small spiders and 

 caterpillars in hedges, gardens, and outhouses, where 

 it explores every dark hole and cranny, hopping 

 briskly about with tail erect, and dropping frequent 

 little curtsies ; always prompt to scold an intruder 

 with great emphasis ; a great hater of cats, 



It was my belief at one time that the Wren was 

 one of the little birds a cat could never catch ; but 

 later on I discovered that this was a mistake. At my 

 home on the pampas we once had a large yellow tom- 

 cat exceedingly dexterous in catching small birds ; 

 he did not, however, eat them himself, but used to 

 bring them into the house for the other cats. Two 

 or three times a day he would appear with a bird, 

 which he would drop at the door, then utter a loud 

 mew very well understood by the other cats, for they 

 would all fly to the spot in great haste, and the first 

 to arrive would get the bird. At one time I noticed 

 that he brought in a Wren almost every day, and, 



