320 Canaries and Cage-Birds. 



exceedingly pretty song, of great strength considering the size of the bird, and very nearly 

 resembling some of the notes of the Canary. 



Jenny is one of the smallest of British birds, being only about four inches in length, and 

 of unpretending plumage unless closely inspected. The head and neck are bright rusty brown, 

 barred with darker brown ; the back reddish-brown, also marked transversely with bars of 

 darker brown ; the chin, throat, and breast dusky grey, tinged with brown towards the belly ; 

 from the base of the beak, over the eye to the back of the ear, runs a narrow streak of dusky 

 grey ; the wings are reddish-brown, each feather barred with darker brown, the outside feathers 

 being lighter ; the tail is also reddish-brown, barred in the same manner with darker brown. 

 The nest of the Wren is extremely interesting, being built of a variety of materials, the 

 selection of which is generally determined by the nature of its surroundings. The shape is 

 spherical, having a dome, and a small aperture at the side. It is built in a variety of 

 situations. I have found one that was placed in a cabbage that had run to seed ; another 

 overhanging a running stream, only a few inches above the water. Their favourite building 

 site is, however, against the trunk of a tree. 



From their merry and lively habits. Wrens are exceedingly pretty additions to the aviary, 

 where they had better be provided with some small covered boxes, or the outside husk of a 

 cocoa-nut, having a hole cut in them, and lined with moss, as these birds, although staying in 

 England when wild during the winter, are very subject to cold when in confinement, and 

 always huddle up closely together for warmth when roosting. 



They had better be fed upon Nightingale's food, a few small worms, caterpillars, spiders, 

 or flies when procurable, together with plenty of ants' eggs. 



The Golden-crested Wren is the most diminutive of all British birds, and may close 

 the long list of Cage Warblers, a class of birds embracing some of the most beautiful of our 

 songsters, but which seem to be sadly neglected, perhaps under the impression that they will 

 not repay the trouble the nature of their food necessitates ; yet beyond the question of song, 

 their plumage is delicately tinted and their habits are extremely interesting, whilst with ordinary 

 care and proper food they are not so difficult to keep as is generally supposed. 



This little bird, which is only three and a half inches in length, is exceedingly beautiful, 

 and may be kept in a cage or turned into the aviary, if fed and treated similarly to the Wood 

 Warbler. Though many of them remain through the winter, they should be kept warm. 



The whole of the neck arid back is a greenish olive-brown ; upon the crest of the head 

 is a patch of reddish-orange ; round the eye is a pale dusky ring, encircled by another of dull 

 white; the wings are brown, double-barred with white, and edged with greenish-yellow on 

 the pinion -feathers. 



