INSESSORES. 359 



shows in courting the neighborhood of man. This Wren is of 

 a dark brown above with blackish bands ; beneath it is whitish, with 

 faint or obscure bands. It builds its nest in boxes or houses pre- 

 pared by man, in which it lays six or eight flesh-colored eggs. 

 It is said that it seldom or never builds a distinct nest, but always 

 conceals it in things " placed for its convenience around houses, 

 or in the hollow of trees." The nest is proportionably very 

 large. Audubon figures one beautifully as built in an old hat. 

 The House-Wren shows great antipathy to cats. "Although it 

 does not attack puss, it follows and scolds her until she is out of 

 sight." It ranges as far as the 57o N. L. Audubon thinks it 

 spends the winter southward of the United States. Its length is 

 four and a half inches. 



The Winter Wren, T. hyemalis, closely resembles the Euro- 

 pean Wren, T. Europaus ; its song is energetic and musical ; 

 it lays ten or twelve whitish eggs. This Wren is small, being 

 only three inches and a half in length. 



The Wood Wren, T. Americanus, is nearly the same as the 

 House Wren, but spends the winter within the limits of the Uni- 

 ted States. 



The Mocking Wren, T. hidovicianus, is noted for its mimicry 

 and song ; it is about five and a half inches long, and ranges 

 from Texas to New York. 



The Ox-peckers, or Ox-eaters, BupJiagida, genus Buphaga, 

 (Gr. bous, an ox ; phago, to eat,) found in Southern Africa, are 

 also included among the Creepers. These birds have a large ob- 

 tuse and nearly quadrangular bill, the lower mandible being 

 stronger than the other, and both swollen towards the point, it 

 somewhat resembles a pair of pinchers or scissors. The Ox- 

 peclcers fasten themselves with their strong, hooked claws and 

 elastic tails upon the backs of ruminant quadrupeds, such as 

 oxen, buffaloes, antelopes and camels, and also, some travelers 

 say, upon the backs of the Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus, and 

 with their beak dig and squeeze out from their backs the larvae 

 (or maggots) which the gadflies have deposited. Wherever, by 

 the presence of an elevation, the bird is aware of the existence 

 of a maggot, he extracts it with strong blows of his bill. This 

 treatment the animals willingly bear, seeming to look upon these 

 birds as their benefactors, as really they are, especially in a re- 

 gion where such insects abound. 



What is the 4th DIVISION of the PERCHERS ? How does Vigors regard 

 them? What are their characteristics? For what does the bill seem 

 chiefly designed ? What is said of their size and plumage ? What of their 



