The House Wben.- 



-BIRDS.- 



-The Lyiik Biiiii. 



32 1 



comparison to the size of the architect ; it is usually 

 oval in its form, with a ilome-like roof, and with a 

 small hole for entrance eitlier at the end or at the side. 

 The materials of whicli it is composed vary according 

 to the situation cliosen for the structure. " If built 

 against the side of a hayrick," says Montagu, " it is com- 

 jiosed of hay ; if against the side of a tree covered with 

 white moss, it is made of that material ; and witli 

 green moss if against a tree covered with the same, 

 or in a bank. Thus instinct directs it for secm-ity." 

 1'he female usually lays from seven to ten eggs, but 

 this number is sometimes greatly exceeded, and as 

 many as sixteen or seventeen eggs have been found in 

 a wren's nest. When we consider that the Wren [iro- 

 duces two of these enormous broods in a season, we 

 may have some idea of the great amount of exertion 

 that must be necessary on the part of the parents to 

 supply so many mouths with the requisite quantity of 

 insects and worms. 



THE HOUSE WREN [Troylodytes domesticm), an 

 inhabitant of the United States of America, where it 

 is a bird of passage, is a more familiar bird, and also a 

 far better songster than our common species. It is 

 about four inches and a half in length, but has a longer 

 tail and a longer and more curved bill than the 

 European wren ; its coloiu' is deep brown above with 

 transverse black bars on the back ; the throat and 

 bieast are light brown, and the belly is mottled with 

 black, brown, and white. In many respects, the habits 

 of this species resemble those of our robin, espcciall)' 

 its familiarity, boldness, and pugnacit}'. It haunts the 

 gardens, and commonly builds about houses ; where, 

 as it is a great favourite, boxes are not unf.equently 

 jilaced for the reception of its nest. The mateiials of 

 the nest consist of small twigs, straws, and similar 

 articles, and the interior is furnished with a warm 

 lining of feathers. In this snug cradle the female lays 

 from six to nine eggs, and the birds generally rear two 

 broods in a season, the first in June, the second in 

 July. As the food both of the parent birds and of the 

 young consists of insects, especially caterpillars, the 

 quantity of these noxious mmates of the garden de- 

 stroyed by them must be very great, and their presence 

 about the houses is highly beneficiah In defending 

 their nests, the wrens exhibit great courage, often 

 attacking birds twice as large as themselves, generally 

 with success. 



THE MARSH WREN {Thryothoms jwlustris) , another 

 North American species, is also a migratory bird, arriv- 

 ing in the latitude of Pennsylvania about the middle 

 of May. It takes up its abode amongst the reeds and 

 other plants bordering the rivers, and rarely moves to 

 any distance from their banks. Its food consists of 

 small flying insects, larvK, and a species of green grass- 

 hopiier which inhabits the reeds. Its note is described 

 by Wilson as a low crackling sound, resembling that pro- 

 duced by air-bubbles forcing their way through mud in 

 boggy ground when trod upon. As if in compensation 

 for this want of musical talent, as Wilson remarks, the 

 Marsh AVren exhibits architectural powers of the highest 

 order. The nest is composed externally " of wet rushes 

 mixed with mud, well intertwisted, and fashioned into 

 the form of a cocoa-nut. A small hole is left two- 



VOL. I. 



thirds up for entrance, the upper edge of which pro- 

 jects like a pent-house over the lower, to prevent the 

 admission of rain. The inside is lined with fine soft 

 grass, and sometimes with feathers ; and the outside, 

 when hardened by the sun, resists every kind of weather. 

 This nest is generally suspended among the reeds, 

 above the reach of the highest tides, and is tied so fast 

 in every part to the surrounding reeds as to bid defiance 

 to the winds and the waves." The eggs laid in this 

 comfortable little abode are usually six in number, and 

 the birds commonly rear two broods in the season. 



The Marsh Wren is five inches long. The upper 

 parts are of a dark brown colour, excejit the top of the 

 head, the back of the neck, and the middle of the back, 

 which are black, streaked with white on the nock and 

 back ; the tail is short and barred with black ; a white 

 streak runs over each eye and down each side of the 

 neck, and the lower parts are white. 



THE LYRE-BIRD {Mrnura siiperba)—V\!Xi& 9, fig. 31. 

 We conclude this family of diminutive liirds, with a 

 notice of an Australian species, whicli must rank as a 

 giant among tlie members of a group so dwarfish. This 

 bird is fiu'iher remarkable from the puzzling nature of 

 its characters, which long rendered its true place in the 

 system very doubtful, the species having been placed 

 originally with the gallinaceous birds, and afterwards in 

 various jiositions amongst the Passeres. Mr. G. R. Gray 

 considers the nearest affinities of the Lyre-bird to be 

 with the Wrens, where we place it ; some other reccrjt 

 writers consider it to be more nearly allied to the Ant- 

 tlu'ushes (Fonnicaricc), belonging to the succeeding 

 section of the Passeres. 



The Lyre-bird {Meinira siipcrha), which was de- 

 scribed just sixty years ago, has a ratlier long and 

 robust bill, a crested head, and a tail composed of very 

 long and broad feathers, of which the two external ones 

 are of the ordinary structure, but beautifully curved so 

 as to represent the two sides of a lyre, whilst the rest 

 arc furnished only with long, slender, and distant barbs, 

 so that the whole, when carried in the habitual erect 

 position, form a most elegant tail. The legs and feet 

 are long and strong, greatly resembling those of a gal- 

 linaceous bird at first sight, although the great develop- 

 ment of the hinder toe and its claw is not common in 

 that order. The toes also have no membrane to unite 

 them at the base. The tarsus and toes are covered 

 with shield-like plates. The general colour of Hie 

 plumage is brown, with red tints upon the secondary 

 quills, the upper tail-coverts, and the chin and throat ; 

 the lower siu'face is brownish-ash colour; the two outer 

 feathers of the tail have the barbs long on the mside, 

 and short on the outside, the inner barbs becoming less 

 close towards the apex; these feathers are gi-eyish- 

 brown on the upper surface, and white beneath near 

 the base ; beyond this they are marked with bands of 

 greyish and reddish-brown, and terminated by a black 

 patch. The total length of the bird is about three feet 

 and a half. In size and general aspect it presents no 

 small resemblance to a pheasant, and it is known to 

 the colonists of New South AVales mider the name of 

 the Wood Pheasant. Its habits also, in some respects, 

 are very similar to those of a gallinaceous bird; it 

 dwells principally on the ground, where it runs with 



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