LXXXV 



WESTERN HOUSE WREN 

 721. Troglodytes cedon 



According to some of our best authorities on birds 

 of the three sub-species, the Western House Wren is the 

 one found in the central part of the United States. It 

 is about five inches long, is brown above and brownish- 

 white below, with bars of brown on its wings and tail. It 

 holds its tail erect and is quick in its actions. It builds 

 not only near the habitations of man, but also in the 

 deep wood, in Woodpeckers ' holes and in natural cavities 

 in trees. It lays from five to eight eggs. In preparing 

 a Wren box the hole of entrance should be exactly the 

 size of a silver twenty-five cent piece. A large door would 

 admit the English Sparrow, the worst bird enemy of 

 the Wren. (Fig. 131.) 



The Wren feeds near the ground, where it may be 

 seen crawling through the weeds and flowers, peeping 

 into every cranny for small insects and plant lice. The 

 young grow very rapidly and are able to fly away from 

 the nest at the end of two weeks. 



The Wren is a harmless, egotistical, busy little body, 

 ever prying into the private affairs of the birds of its 

 neighborhood. No bird commotion can take place in the 

 vicinity of a Wren without its making an investigation, 

 slyly creeping about tree trunks or peeping from behind 

 some leaf or vine. If you are near her home when 

 " Jenny" returns, you must act quickly if you wish to 

 secure a still picture of the little lady, for she seldom 

 tarries long while carrying the meals to her nursery full 

 of hungry babies. With six or seven gaping mouths and 

 as many seemingly ever-empty stomachs to fill every 

 three to five minutes, she must be continually on the go, 

 lest a feeding period be missed. 



Of all birds the little House Wren is the most nerv- 

 ous ; not that it exhibits a nervous fear but it just cannot 

 keep still a moment, either in body or tongue. Espe- 

 cially is this true when nesting. During the incubating 



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