THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 65 



To thee a song of praise is due, 



For thou art faithful, fond, and true . 



Affection warm and firm as thine, 



Which knows no varying nor decline, 



The false and fleeting love might shame, 



Of those who bear a nobler name ; 



And lordly man might learn from thee, 



A lesson of fidelity. 



Oh ! fair befall thee, gay fauvette, 



With trilling song and cap of jet ! 



ORDER PASSERES 



The Golden-crested Wren, 

 Motacilla Regulus. LINN. 



THE golden-crested wren is the smallest of all 

 the British birds, and has sometimes been called 

 the English humming bird. When stripped of 

 its feathers, its body is about an inch long : with 

 its feathers, it is a little more than three inches 

 in length, and weighs only about seventy-six 

 grains. It is so small that it can pass through 

 the meshes of the nets, commonly used for catch- 

 ing small birds, and easily escapes from all cages. 

 A leaf is sufficient to conceal it from the most 

 piercing sight ; which is probably the reason why 

 they are so rarely seen in summer, when, no 



