26 THE WOOD-WREN 



could reconnoitre before dropping into cover and 

 thence flitting straight into the nest. 



Nearly every member of the warbler family 

 loves to nest in such a situation, where insect 

 life is plentiful, and the undergrowth is so art- 

 lessly arranged that it forms an ample screen 

 while admitting sufficient light for the health of 

 the young and the satisfaction of the sunshine- 

 loving parent birds. And a special tree, as a 

 post of observation, seems indispensable to 

 wood-wren and willow-wren alike. The warblers, 

 whose habits are in many ways almost identical, 

 are seldom found far from the lowlands ; for in 

 the lush meadows, and in the brakes of fern, and 

 briar, and furze on the borders of brooks and 

 rivers, the insects on which they feed are hatched 

 out in greater profusion than in the cornlands 

 and pastures on the slopes of the hills, where the 

 bitter winter wind, the furrowing ploughshare, 

 and the close-browsing rabbits and sheep are 

 never-tiring enemies to the lowlier forms of life 

 that dwell in the grass. 



Great care and ingenuity were shown by the 

 wood-wrens in the construction of their dwelling. 

 The moss used for a roof and foundation was 

 readily obtainable from the cattle-path close by. 

 When this had been moulded into shape, dry 

 grass-bents and leaves were woven together 

 within the dome ; next, at the bottom and sides. 



