133 THE SMALLER BRITISH JJIItDS. 



"Amid the leafless thorn the merry Wren, 

 When icicles hang dripping from the rock, 

 Pipes her perennial lay; even when the flakes 

 Broad on her pinions fall, she lightly flies 

 Athwart the shower, and sings upon the wing." 



In the summer, when the woods ring with the many and varied 

 strains of other birds, the pipe of the tiny Wren does not attract 

 attention, but when nearly all the other sylvan choristers are silent, 

 its sweet and lively, although somewhat shrill song, is most welcome. 

 The little singer generally utters his music from the upper branches 

 of a hedge or bush; he stands with raised head, expanded throat, and 

 drooping wings, and hops from his perch as soon as he has finished 

 his performance. His voice is of wonderful power iu proportion to 

 his size. Mr. W. Thompson says, "On the yard wall before my window 

 in the country, a Wren once appeared on the 23rd. of September, 

 singing with such extraordinary loudness as immediately to attract 

 other birds to the spot. First came a Hedge Sparrow to buffet it, 

 followed by a male and female Chaffinch, also with sinister intent, 

 but it maintained its position against them all, and sang away as 

 fiercely as ever. A Robin too alighted beside the songster, but, 

 unlike the others, did not seek to disturb it. For this strange pro- 

 ceeding on the part of the Wren there was no apparent cause. When 

 a bird of prey appears, the little Wren often gives the alarm, by 

 uttering rapidly its note of fear, shrekf slirek! so quickly repeated 

 that it sounds like a miniature watchman's rattle; this is usually 

 accompanied with a curtseying or dipping motion in the manner of 

 the Redbreast." 



This bird is extremely lively and restless, it scarcely remains in 

 one position for a moment, hopping from one branch to another with 

 fluttering wings and elevated tail, or taking little frisking nights at a 

 short distance from the surface of the ground. It will allow anyone 

 to approach very close without taking alarm, but if it fancies any 

 harm is intended, off it darts into the nearest hedge, and its diminutive 

 form is soon lost amid the foliage. 



The nest of the Wren, which is built early in spring, varies very 

 much both in form and materials. Montagu says, "The materials are 

 generally adapted to the place; if built against the side of a hay 

 rick, it is composed of hay; if built against the side of a tree 

 covered with white moss, it is made of that material, and with green 

 moss if against a tree covered with the same, or in a bank. Thus 

 instinct directs it for security." Mr. Hewitson mentions one built 

 against a clover stacic, and formed entirely of clover; and Mr. Jesse 



