THE WEEN. 421 



so diminutive a creature, is apt to strike one with surprise, even 

 after it has long been familiar to him. 



" During the breeding season, Wrens keep in pairs, often in 

 unfrequented parts, such as bushy dells, mossy wctods, the banks 

 of streams, and stony places overgrown with brambles, sloes, 

 and other shrubs ; but toward the end of autumn they approach 

 the habitations of man, and although never decidedly gregarious, 

 sometimes appear in small straggling parties. They are not, pro- 

 perly speaking, shy, as they seem to conceive themselves secure 

 at the distance of twenty or thirty yards, but, on the approach 

 of a person, conceal themselves in holes between stones, or among 

 the roots or bushes. In liveliness and activity, the Wren rivals 

 the Kinglets, Tits, and Creepers, as, indeed, might be expected, 

 from its diminutive size, birds as well as quadrupeds being gene- 

 rally more slow in their motions the larger the bulk." 



From among many other anecdotes illustrative of the sagacity, 

 if we may so call it, of this bird, we meet with the following by 

 KNAPP, whose concluding remarks are worthy of serious thought 

 and attention. 



"June 14. I was much pleased this day by detecting the 

 stratagems of a Common Wren to conceal its nest from obser- 

 vation. It had formed a hollow space in the thatch, on the inside 

 of my cow-shed, in which it had placed its nest by the side of a 

 rafter, and finished it with its usual neatness ; but lest the orifice 

 of its cell should engage attention, it had negligently hung a 

 ragged piece of moss on the straw-work, concealing the entrance, 

 and apparently proceeding from the rafter ; and so perfect was 

 the deception, that I should not have noticed it, though tolerably 

 observant of such things, had not the bird betrayed her secret, 

 and darted out. Now from what operative cause did this strata- 

 gem proceed P Habit it was not ; it seemed like an after-thought ; 

 danger was perceived, and the contrivance which a contemplative 

 being would have provided was resorted to. The limits of instinct 

 we cannot define : it appeared the reflection of reason. This 

 procedure may be judged, perhaps, a trifling event to notice ; but 

 the ways and motives of creatures are so little understood, that 

 any evidence which may assist our research should not be re- 

 jected. Call their actions as we may, they have the effect of 

 reason ; and loving all the manners and operations of these di- 

 rected beings, I have noted this, simple as it may be." 



MACGILLIVEAY also describes the nest as enormously large, 

 roundish, or oblong, composed chiefly of moss, and lined with fea- 

 thers. RENNIE observes, that the Wren does not begin at the 

 bottom of its nest first, as is usual with most birds ; but if against 

 a tree, first traces the outline of the nest, which is of an oval 



