320 



PASSERES. BIRDS. CE 



cise ; the different chambers and passages in the interior 

 of the nest may also be of service in enabling them to 

 escape and conceal themselves from any threatened 

 danger. There are several nearly allied species which 

 appear to have the same habits. Their food 

 consists of insects, worms, and small mollusca, 

 which they often seek upon the ground. 



THE EED OVEN-BIRD (Furnariits rufus}. 

 Amongst the species of this family found in 

 the warmer parts of South America, there are 

 some to which the name of Oven-birds has 

 been given, from the nature of the nest which 

 they construct. The Bed Oven-bird, which is 

 one of the best known species, is about eight 

 inches in length, and has the whole upper part 

 of the body of a reddish-brown colour, and the 

 lower surface white, with the flanks reddish- 

 brown. It builds its nest always in an exposed 

 situation, such as a naked branch, the palisades 

 of a garden, or the windows of a house ; 

 forming it of earth, in the shape of a small 

 oven. The nest is hemispherical in its form, 

 and about six inches and a half in diameter ; 

 both sexes engage in its construction by 

 bringing small pellets of clay, and working 

 them into the edifice, and they carry on their 

 operations so energetically, that they often 

 complete the nest in two days. The opening 

 is on one side, and the interior is divided by a 

 partition into two chambers, in the inner of which the 

 eggs are deposited. These nests are made use of for 

 several successive years. This species, which occurs 

 in the countries of La Plata, feeds like its allies upon 

 insects, which it captures both on trees and on the 

 ground. It is a gay and sprightly bird, perching and 

 running with great agility. 



THE SOUTH-KEN CINCLODES (Cinclodes antarctica). 

 Some species of this family nearly allied to the Oven- 

 birds, and forming the genus Cinclodes, are found 

 principally upon the western coast of South America, 

 especially towards the southern extremity of that con- 

 tinent, where they examine the sea-weeds thrown upon 

 the shore, picking up the worms and small Crustacea 

 which adhere to them. According to Mr. Darwin, 

 they may also be seen upon the floating fronds of the 

 Fucus giganteus at some distance from land. The 

 present species measures about five inches and a half 

 in length, and is of a light sooty-brown colour, with a 

 tawny band across the wings. It is found especially 

 at the Falkland islands, where Pernetty states that it 

 is so familiar that it will almost fly upon the finger, and 

 that he killed ten in less than half an hour with a small 

 stick almost without changing his position. 



THE COMMON WEEN ( Troglodytes mdgaris). Besides 

 the preceding forms, the family Certhiadse includes our 

 common British Wren, together with a considerable 

 number of allied birds, distributed in all parts of the 

 world. We can only refer to a few of the most remark- 

 able of these. The common European Wren fig. 108 

 is one of the smallest of our British birds, measuring 

 only about four inches hi length ; its general colour is 

 brown, streaked in parts with alternate lighter and 

 darker shade*; the quill -feathers of the wings and 



short tail are reddish -brown, with transverse black 

 bars, and the throat and breast are whitish ; the latter 

 speckled with brown. The Wren is generally dispersed 

 over the British islands, and, indeed, in all parts of 



Fig. 108 



The Common Wren (Troglodytes vulgaria). 



Europe ; and although strictly an insectivorous bird, 

 it is a permanent inhabitant of these climates, and is 

 even said to become more abundant towards the north. 

 It is also found in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and 

 Greenland. During the severe weather of winter the 

 Wrens usually approach the habitations of man, not 

 unfrequently roosting in cow-houses, where the air is 

 warmed by the presence of the cattle, or squeezing 

 themselves in small parties into holes in thatch or 

 walls, where their close approximation enables them 

 to keep each other warm. In the spring, the wren 

 resorts to the hedgerows, but even then continues to 

 frequent the neighbourhood of gardens and farms, and 

 this apparent familiarity and confidence in man, 

 coupled no doubt with the diminutive size of the 

 creature, renders this bird everywhere almost as great 

 a favourite as the Robin. Nevertheless, a curious 

 practice has prevailed from time immemorial in the 

 south of Ireland, of hunting this harmless little bird on 

 Christmas-day ; the hedges are beaten with sticks, and 

 when the unfortunate little creature is driven from its 

 concealment, it is struck down with a second stick 

 carried by each hunter. On St. Stephen's day the 

 dead birds are hung by the children on an ivy bush 

 decorated with bright ribbons, which they carry about 

 with songs, and collect money " to bury the wren." 

 This piece of cruel folly is now falling into disuse. 



The Wren flies but little, and only for short distances. 

 When disturbed and driven out of one part of the 

 hedge, he takes a little flight to another place, and 

 then plunges into the bushes, and creeps through them 

 often close to the ground, like a mouse. The male 

 sings throughout the greater part of the year ; his notes 

 are shrill and lively. The nest of the W v en is large in 



