45 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



hole of a wall or of a ti-ee, among :he thatch of a cottage or outhouse, on the loft of a shed or barn, 

 the branch of a tree, whether growing along a wall or standing free, among ivy, honeysuckle, clematis, 

 or other climbing plants. When the nest is on the ground its base is generally formed of leaves, 

 twigs, and straws, and its interior is often similar ; but when otherwise, the outer surface is generally 

 smooth, and chiefly composed of moss. Several authors have spoken of the nests frequently constructed 

 by this bird in spring and afterwards abandoned, and have indulged in various conjectures respecting 

 them. I should suppose that a nest may occasionally be partially or entirely built, and then deserted, 

 because its owners find it unsafe or have been frightened from it. The Magpie often commences a 

 nest and leaves it unfinished, probably for the same reason ; and the same remark may be made as to 

 the Blackbird and Thrush. But Mr. Wood relates a very curious fact respecting the Wren, which is 

 that it ' often builds itself a dwelling in autumn, and lodges in it on cold nights. These nests,' he 

 continues, 'are mostly constructed in the usual localities, though I once found one situated in an old 



COMMON' WREN. 



Garden Thrush's nest in a Portugal laurel. Frequently, also, the nests in which one or two broods 

 had been reared in summer are tenanted every night throughout the winter.' On this 

 subject Mr. Weir has sent me the following remarks : ' During the period of incubation, 

 the male (says an anonymous writer in Mr. London's Magazine), apparently from a desire 

 to be doing something, constructs as many as half-a-dozen nests in the vicinity of the first, none of 

 which are lined with feathers ; and whilst the first nest is so artfully concealed as to be seldom found, 

 the latter are very frequently seen. With respect to the use of these structure.?, or cock-nests, as they 

 are called in England, if we believe that birds, like some insects, have foresight, a more ingenious 

 theory might be advanced. During the severity of winter they may be intended as houses of refuge 

 for them and their families.* Whether this be always the case or not it will be difficult to ascertain. 

 That they are, however, sometimes employed for this purpose I can affirm, as the whole of those in my 

 neighbourhood during the late severe frosty weather (of 1837-8) were occupied by them. I have 

 one of these nests in my possession in which they lodged, and in which there was a quantity of their 

 droppings.' The Wren being a very diminutive bird, might be supposed to require this kind of shelter 



* The writer was assured by a lad living at Colgate, Sussex, that during the severe winter of 1878-9 he frequently found 

 \Vrens roosting in the old nests, and on one occasion he captured five in the same nest. 



