50 BIRDS OF THE GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



stream, and watched for a sight of the imp that must 

 be concealed there. In less than a minute there emerged 

 from it a Marsh- Wren, whisking and flitting about with 

 gestures as peculiar though not as awkward as his bur- 

 lesque song. 



If I believed, as some writers affirm, that birds learn 

 their song from their parents, who carry them along 

 from one step to another as if they had a musical gamut 

 before them, I might have conjectured that this bird 

 had been taught by a frog, and that, despising his teacher, 

 he strove not to learn his reptile notes but to burlesque 

 them. As I was walking homeward, I could not but 

 reflect that Nature, who is sometimes personified as an old 

 dame, must have indulged her mirthfulness when she 

 created a bird with the voice of a reptile. 



Dr. Brewer describes the nest of the Marsh-Wren as 

 nearly spherical, composed externally of coarse sedges 

 firmly interwoven, cemented with mud and clay, and im- 

 pervious to the weather. An orifice is left on one side 

 for entrance, having on the upper side a projecting edge 

 to protect it from rain. The inside is lined with soft 

 grass, feathers, and the cottony product of various plants. 

 It is commonly placed on a low bush a few feet from the 

 ground. 



This species, like all the Wrens, has great activity and 

 industry, consumes immense quantities of small insects, 

 is very petulant in its manners, and manifests a superior 

 degree of intelligence and courage. 



