THE TAILOE-BIED, 



271 



fell upon the saucer of food, and immediately seemed to influence the Wrens, who came 

 hopping and flying nearer and nearer, until they were bold enough to taste the food. Tor ^ 

 several days the geranium blossoms were used as a decoy, but the little birds soon became ' 

 so familiar that they needed no such allurement, and woukl crowd round the saucer as 

 soon as it was placed on the ground. 



In the pages of the above-mentioned wi'iter a curious anecdote is related, where a pair 

 of flycatchers who had made a nest and laid three eggs were ousted by a party of young 

 Wrens just able to fly. The little 

 birds had probably been ejected 

 from home for the first time, and 

 seeing so comfortable a nest, had 

 taken possession of it. I have 

 often observed the same conduct 

 in many young canaries, for when- 

 ever a family of the newly-fledged 

 birds is turned out of the nest, they 

 generally wend their way to the 

 home of some other female, and 

 instal themselves in possession of 

 her nest and eggs before she is 

 aware of their intentions. 



The title of "Kitty Wren," 

 which is often given to this bird, 

 is owing to the peculiar little twit- 

 tering sound of Chit ! cliit ! which 



it utters while engaged in the pur- 

 suit of food. 



The colour of the Wren is a 



rich reddish-brown, paling con- 

 siderably on the under surface of 



the body, and darkening into dusky 



brown upon the quill-feathers of 



the wings and tail. The outer webs 



of the former are sprinlded with 



reddish-brown spots, and the short 



tail-feathers are barred with the 



same hue. The bill is slender, 



and rather long in proportion to 



the general dimensions of the bird. 



The total length of the Wren is 



rather more than four inches. 



Wliite and pied varieties are not 



uncommon. 



We now arrive at the very 

 large family of the Waeblees, a 

 group in which the genera, when 

 taken together, number more mem- 

 bers than those of any other 



family. The first sub-family is that which is known by the name of the Malvrince, or 

 soft-tailed Warblers. 



TAILOE^BIRD. — Orthdtomus longicaudus. 



The first example of the soft-tailed Warblers is the celebrated Tailoe-bied of India 

 and the Indian Archipelago. There are many species belonging to the genus Orthotomus, 

 and as they all possess similar habits, there is no need of describing more than the 

 example which has been shown. They are pecuUar birds, haunting cultivated grounds. 



