IX 

 REARING A WREN FAMILY 



WHY shouldn't a little wren have an enormous appe- 

 tite? " I mused, as I lay hidden in the tall grass 

 watching the father as he fed the eldest of the family of 

 five, that had flown for the first time from the nest in the 

 hollow stump to the alder branches below. " Of course 

 we admit that the tiny bobtailed youngster must have the 

 most rapid sort of double-action digestive apparatus when 

 we remember that he is full-grown within two weeks from 

 the day he is hatched. The chief object of his life must 

 be to eat and to sleep." 



Wrens are interesting little chaps anyhow droll, 

 fidgety individuals, each with great self-esteem. My in- 

 terest in a certain brown family had increased with every 

 visit for a whole month. One picks up many acquaint- 

 ances rambling about the hills, but, like people, some are 

 more interesting than others, and acquaintanceship often 

 warms into friendship as the days pass by. 



While out birding in the latter part of June I was 

 trudging along up one of the shaded paths of the fir- 

 covered hillsides, when a little bird whizzed headlong 

 down in its tippling flight, barely dodging my head. Both 

 of us were rather flustered at this sudden and unexpected 

 meeting. The moment's pause on an overhanging branch 

 was sufficient for me to recognize the hurrying stranger 



