102 



BRITISH BIRDS 



FIG. 37. WREN. natural size. 



the house-martin, and the robin redbreast, falls to the share of the 

 small wren. He is one of the few general favourites, although, 

 perhaps, not so great a favourite as the others just named. The 



reason of this is, doubt- 

 less, because he is less do- 

 mestic, never so familiar 

 with man or tolerant of 

 close observation. The 

 wren is never tame nor 

 unsuspicious; he is less 

 dependent on us than 

 other small birds that 

 attach themselves to 

 human habitations, never 

 a * pensioner ' in the same 

 degree as the blue tit, 

 dunnock, blackbird, and 

 sparrow. The minute 

 spiders, chrysalids, ear- 

 wigs, and wood-lice 



with other creeping things to be found in obscure holes and cor- 

 ners hi wood-piles, ivy-covered walls, and outhouses, are more to his 

 taste than the ' sweepings of the threshold.' His small size, modest 

 colouring, and secrecy ; his activity, and habit of seeking his food in 

 holes and dark places which are not explored by other insectivorous 

 species, enable him to exist in a great variety of conditions gardens, 

 orchards, deep woods, open commons, hedgerows, rocky shores, 

 swamps, mountains, and moors ; there are, indeed, few places where 

 the small, busy wren is not to be met with. This ability of the wren 

 to find everywhere in nature a neglected corner to occupy would 

 appear to give it a great advantage over other small birds ; moreover, 

 it is very prolific, and excepting, perhaps, two species of cits, is more 

 successful than any other small bird in rearing large broods of young. 

 Nevertheless, the wrens do not seem to increase. At the end of 

 Slimmer they are very abundant, and you will, perhaps, be able to 

 count a dozen birds where only one pair appeared in spring ; but 

 when spring comes again you will generally find that the popu- 

 lation has fallen back to its old numbers. The larger increase in 

 summer indicates a greater mortality during the rest of the year 

 than is suffered by other species. The wren is said to eat fruit 

 occasionally, and even seeds ; but it is almost exclusively insectivo- 



