.HNTEK WREN. 61 



covered by the tiny body \n n mystery. The eggs of both species 

 ftre creamy white, with a circle of reddish brown spots around the 

 larger end. 



With all his rollicking, Bohemian ways, the chickadee makes a 

 model mate and a devoted i)arent ; and though generally in a merry 

 mood, inclined to be sociable with a sympathizing spirit, and 

 friendly with all his neighbours, he can be fierce when the occasion 

 demands, and displays considerable boldness and courage in 

 defending his nest against intrusion. These birds are never shy, 

 and appear quite indifferent to the presence of mankind, pausing 

 sometimes in their scramble on a tree to gaze at an inquisitive 

 intruder with a comical " who-are-you-looking-at?" air. 



A visitor to the woods on a bright day in winter is apt to meet a 

 troop of these restless fellows in company with brown creepers, 

 nuthatches, and kinglets, a downy woodpecker often acting as 

 rear guard — all gadding through the forest, with short flights from 

 tree to tree, and chattering merrily as they fly. 



WINTER WREN. 



This bird derived its name ifrom its habit of wintering in the 

 Middle States, and thus received an appellation which sounds 

 strangely to Canadian observers, who know this species as a 

 summer visitor only. In Southern Ontario it is known chiefly as 

 a spring and summer migrant, but north of the forty-fifth parallel 

 it occurs as a sunuuer resident throughout these Eastern Provinces. 

 The wrens cannot be called abundant, yet I think that they are 

 more common than is generally supposed. Tlieir habit of hiding 

 amid the brush and shrubbery, when in the more open pasture lands, 

 and their more general habit of retreating to the deeper shades of 

 the forest) keep them out of the way of the casual woodland 

 wanderer, but even the bird-lovers, who know the haunts of these 

 tiny songsters, rarely catch a glimpse of one, though a trained ear 

 will often detect the bird's voice in the general chorus. 



The retiring habits of the bird accounts for the little that is 

 known of its nesting habits, comparatively few nests having 



