THE EEED WBEX. 407 



with olive green. The young birds may be reared on ants' 

 eggs. 



Mode of Talcing. The Reed Wren may often be caught by 

 simply taking up a turf and setting on the spot limed twigs, 

 baited with meal worms. 



Attractive Qualities. This bird has a pleasant song, some- 

 thing like that of the last-mentioned species, though not so 

 full in tone. An agreeable peculiarity is, that it sings during 

 the morning and evening twilight. 



SWEET'S ACCOUNT. " A pretty little lively species, generally 

 frequenting the sides of rivers and ditches when in a wild state, 

 where its warbling song may be heard amongst the reeds and 

 sedges, or other thickets that are near the water ; visiting us the 

 beginning or middle of April, and leaving again in September. 

 Towards autumn it sometimes leaves its usual haunts, and fre- 

 quents the gardens for the sake of insects ; it is particularly fond 

 of the common house fly (Musca domestica), and I have frequently 

 seen several of them in August and the beginning of September 

 by the side of large dung-heaps, where those flies breed, and 

 about that time are coming out from the pupa state in great 

 quantities ; they may then be readily taken in a trap baited with 

 a small moth or green caterpillar ; when first caught they should, 

 if possible, be put in a cage with some other tame birds, or if one 

 is placed in a cage by itself, it should be set near a cage with 

 some other bird in it, which reconciles it to confinement, being 

 so very wild and restless when first caught, that if there is not 

 another bird with, or near it, there will be but little chance of 

 its living ; but it soon becomes very tame and familiar in confine- 

 ment, and in a very short time will be sociable enough to take a 

 fly, or other small insect, from the hand of the person who attends 

 to it. 



" In confinement the birds of this species will readily take to 

 feed on the bruised hemp seed and bread, and some raw lean 

 meat mixed with it ; to make them take to it immediately, a little, 

 should be placed in a small pan or dish, mixed up with a quantity 

 of flies or other small insects, and others stuck on the surface of 

 it ; some yolk of a boiled egg should also be done up in the same 

 manner ; when once they taste this, they are particularly fond of 

 it ; the egg should not be mixed with the bread and hemp seed, 

 but be given by itself as a change of food ; any small insects, 

 such as the smooth caterpillars, moths, butterflies, spiders, grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, ants, and various other insects, they are very 

 partial to, and the more is given them, the better will be their 

 health and spirits. Like the Sedge Warbler, the present species 



