508 BRITISH BIRDS. 



driven in large quantities by the wintry blasts. Here the little Wren will 

 build a nest which almost completely defies detection. Numerous, indeed, 

 are the instances recorded of this bird selecting the most curious situations. 

 It has been known to choose the inside of a shed ; and, stranger preference 

 still, Stevenson, in his ( Birds of Norfolk/ mentions a nest that was built 

 amongst the leaves of a Savoy cabbage. In fact it is almost as eccentric 

 in this respect as the Robin. The materials employed in the construc- 

 tion of its nest vary according to the peculiarities of the site selected ; but 

 the outside at least is generally made of one material alone. Thus, when 

 the nest is in a haystack, the outside of the nest is made of dry grass ; when 

 in bushes and brambles full of dead leaves, the latter material is the only 

 one selected ; when placed in a moss-covered stump, green moss is chosen ; 

 and should the trunk be covered with lichens, they will be utilized. Some 

 of the most beautiful Wrens' nests which I have ever seen have been 

 composed principally of dead fronds of bracken. The Wren builds a 

 domed nest, not semi-domed like the nests of the Willow-Warbler, but 

 completely domed like those of the Dippers. As often as not, the outside 

 is composed of moss and withered leaves, the latter in great number. 

 Round the hole which admits the parent birds are woven straws, which 

 also do much to strengthen the whole structure. The inside is lined with 

 fine moss, hair, and a large quantity of feathers ; but these materials are 

 not always found. Although so loosely put together, the Wren's nest is 

 a marvel of architectural skill. When we bear in mind that leaves and 

 moss form its chief materials, and consider the method by which these two 

 substances (ill adapted, one would think, for weaving-purposes) are formed 

 into such a compact cradle, we cannot but pause in admiration before its 

 little home. When in the branches, the nest is only slightly attached to 

 them, and very few twigs are interwoven with the materials of the nest. 

 Elaborate, indeed, is this beautiful structure, and upwards of thirty times 

 more bulky than the little builders. It sometimes takes a fortnight to com- 

 plete it ; and the female bird alone is the builder, the male sometimes con- 

 veying the greater part of the materials. In some cases the birds are very 

 much attached to their nesting-site. Dixon has removed their nest as many 

 as four times ; but so attached were the little creatures to the home of their 

 choice, that they persisted in building fresh structures in the same place. 



The eggs of the Wren vary from four to six, and even eight or nine in 

 number. Clutches of still larger numbers are on record, but are very 

 exceptional. They are pure white in ground-colour when blown, with 

 a few red spots usually congregated round the large end of the egg in a 

 zone. Occasionally they are entirely without markings ; and sometimes 

 the spots are evenly distributed over the egg. In form they differ consi- 

 derably, some being almost round, others more elongated. They vary 

 in length from '75 to '65 inch, and in breadth from '55 to -48 inch. 



