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694 The Sparrow-like Birds 



THE WRENS 



(Family Troglodytida) 



As at present limited the Wrens comprise a compact and fairly well circum- 

 scribed group of very small to medium-sized birds, finding their closest relatives 

 among the Mockingbirds (Mimidce) and Creepers (Certhiidce), especially the 

 former, which have by some authorities been included with them. Technically 

 speaking they are ten-primaried, acutiplantar oscines, or singing birds, with 

 short, much-rounded, and concave wings in which the eighth to fourth primaries 

 are longest, and elongated and compressed, usually slender bills which are, as a 

 rule, more or less decurved toward the tip, while the rictal bristles are nearly 

 obsolete, and the anterior toes show a considerable degree of cohesion at their 

 bases. The tail is usually short and graduated, sometimes minute, though 

 considerably elongated in certain South and Central American forms, and is 

 without any special attributes, "unless the erected position so frequently ob- 

 served may be considered a characteristic." As regards coloration, the Wrens 

 are all plain birds, the prevailing hues being brown or gray, usually varied with 

 bars of dusky, sometimes streaked or speckled, while the under parts are white, 

 gray, buff, tawny, rufous, or sooty, and the plumage never has red, yellow, green, 

 or blue, or other pure colors. The habits and general economy of the birds 

 vary to such a degree that only a few leading traits can be conveniently enumer- 

 ated, and on these points we quote from the most charming of writers, Dr. 

 Coues. "The Wrens," he says, "habitually live near the ground, inhabiting 

 shrubbery rather than trees, the reeds of swamps or marshes, the tangle of 

 windfall country, patches of cactus, piles of rock, etc. Although not all scan- 

 sorial in the proper sense, they have a good deal of the Creeper in their com- 

 position, and are incessantly rustling about in the intricate recesses of their 

 chosen resorts, gliding with short flights or leaping impetuously. Such humility 

 and the evident desire for a means of ready concealment, even though not 

 always taken advantage of, contrast curiously with some other traits the Wrens 

 exhibit in an exaggerated degree, and result in a singular compound. For the 

 Wrens possess a high rate of irritability : they are bold, self-asserting, and aggres- 

 sive, petulant to the verge of fretfulness, with a certain pertness of demeanor 

 and a singularly prying, inquisitive disposition. They are the irresponsible 

 busy-bodies of feathered society, and not seldom make trouble among some of 

 the milder-mannered and better-behaved members of the sylvan circle. They 

 are noisy birds; when alarmed or displeased, they have a loud, harsh, chatter- 

 ing, or scolding note ; but they are also fine songsters." In the matter of nidifica- 

 tion there is quite a wide range, yet in general it may be said that the Wrens 

 build rather rude and bulky nests of coarse materials, placing them usually in 

 cavities in trees, among rocks, or about buildings, sometimes hanging them in 

 bushes or among reeds. There is no constant character of the eggs beyond the 

 fact that they are always numerous, usually from six to ten. As regards food, 



