316 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



often visit the verandah or dodge in and out among the creepers 

 which skirt the window-frames, in search of the tiny insects on 

 which it feeds. In its actions the Wren seems to resemble the 

 Timeliine birds of Tropical Asia, and to be out of place in the 

 temperate and cold climates of the more northern countries. 

 It creeps about in the shrubberies and thick undergrowth, 

 frequents the bottoms of hedges, and searches diligently among 

 the fallen trees, especially it the latter be covered with ivy. 

 Occasionally it comes into view and perches on a fence to utter 

 its song. This is a rattling performance, wonderfully loud 

 for the size of the bird, which can always be recognised by its 

 small size and by the way in which its tail is erected at right 

 angles to its back. 



The nest is placed in all kinds of situations, and it is curious 

 to notice that a number of nests, apparently finished off with 

 great care, are not inhabited by the birds. These " cock " 

 nests, as they are called, do not appear to be lined with 

 feathers like the real nesting home of the bird, and are 

 supposed to serve as roosting-places. The number of them 

 found in a small area, unlined, and never containing eggs, 

 has suggested the idea that the Wrens desert a nest into which 

 a finger has been inserted, and therefore many people have 

 supposed that these were deserted nests. The other explana- 

 tion, however, seems to be the more plausible one, that the un- 

 lined nests are either roosting-places or are built to draw off 

 attention from the real nest. 



Nest. A large structure compared with the size of the little 

 architects, composed chiefly of moss, but largely constructed 

 of materials belonging to the surroundings of the nest. Thus, 

 if a moss-grown situation be chosen, green moss is employed; 

 if amongst dead leaves, then leaves are chosen, and thus, 

 by the assimilation of the nest to the surroundings it es- 

 capes detection, and is never easy to find, except when the 

 bird builds in the ivy at the top of a small stump, or in the 

 head of a savoy cabbage, or in some such conspicuous 

 place. 



Eggs. From four to six in number, sometimes as many as 

 eight or nine, or even more. Ground-colour china-white, 



