THE EDINBURGH 



JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



AND OF 



THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



MARCH, 1839. 



ZOOLOGY. 



BRITISH BIRDS. THE WREN. 



The Common Wren, Anorthura Troglodytes, is one of the most familiarly 

 known of our small birds, being rendered remarkable by its peculiar form, 

 not less than by the liveliness of its motions. Next to the Robin, it is 

 perhaps the least liable to molestation from boys and idle people ; and 

 for this security it is indebted partly to its small size, and partly to its 

 .cheerfulness and innocence. Next to the Kinglets, the Creeper, the 

 Chiff-chaff, and the smaller Tits, it is the least of our native birds. Its 

 flight is effected by a rapid and continuous motion of the wings, and there- 

 fore is not undulated, but direct ; nor is it sustained, for the bird merely 

 flits from one bush to another, or from stone to stone. It is most fre- 

 quently met with along stone walls, among fragments of rocks, in thickets 

 of whins, and by hedges, where it attracts notice by the quickness of its 

 motions, and frequently by its loud chirring noise. When standing, it keeps 

 its tail nearly erect, and jerks its whole body smartly ; then hops about 

 with great alacrity, using its wings at the same time, and continually 

 enunciating its rapid chit. In spring and summer, the male has a very 

 pleasing, full, rich, and mellow song, which it repeats at short intervals ; 

 and even in autumn, and on fine days in winter, it may occasionally be 

 heard hurrying over its ditty, the loudness and clearness of which, as pro- 

 ceeding from so diminutive a creature, is apt to strike one with surprise 

 even after it has long been familiar to him. 



During the breeding season, Wrens keep in pairs often in unfrequented 

 parts, such as bushy dells, mossy woods, the banks of streams, and 

 stony places overgrown with brambles, sloes, and other shrubs ; but to- 

 wards the end of autumn they approach the habitation of man, and although 

 never decidedly gregarious, sometimes appear in small straggling parties. 

 They are not, properly speaking, shy, as they conceive themselves secure 

 at the distance of twenty or thirty yards, but, on the approach of a person, 

 conceal themselves in holes among stones, or among the roots of bushes. 

 In liveliness and activity the Wren rivals the Kinglets, Tits, and Creeper, 

 as might be expected from its diminutive size, birds as well as quadrupeds 

 being generally more slow in their motions the larger their bulk. 



A pleasant little fable, of which the Wren is the hero, is told by the 

 Hebridians. At an assembly of the birds, the Eagle was boasting of his 

 strength, asserting that he could mount higher in the air than any of earth's 

 inhabitants, when up starts the little Wren, and flatly contradicts the 

 tyrant, challenging him to a trial of speed. The Eagle regarded his puny 

 rival with contempt, but accepting the challenge, or desirous of display- 

 ing his powers, spread out his huge wings, and launched into the air. Up 

 rose the royal bird in majestic gyrations, over the assembled tribes, up 

 beyond the mountain tops, up beyond the streaks of grey vapour, up beyond 

 the specks and lines of the white cirri and cirrocumuli that floated in the 

 blue ocean of ether, up until he seemed but a point in the eye of the 

 Goshawk and Peregrine, who watched his progress with more envy than 

 admiration, and of the Raven, who thought he could mount as high him- 

 self; still up until he vanished entirely from the sight of most of the other 

 birds, who were not accustomed to look so far into the sky. But where 

 was the little Wien all this time? Had he crept with shame into some 

 hole, or been unwittingly trampled to death by the broad foot of some 

 gazing Gander, or the still broader foot o( the pillar-legged Pelican ? At 

 length the Eagle stopped, gasping for breath, with swollen eyes and palpi- 

 tating heart, unable to ascend a foot farther, and spreading wide his wings 

 and tail, floated in the dazzling light. The little vain-glorious thing that 

 bad defied him, he knows has been left at least a mile behind. But lo ! 



up again starts the Wren, who had nimbly perched on the Eagle's back, 

 and kept himself concealed among the feathers. With a hop, and a jerk of 

 his tail, and a glance of pride, up springs the little Wren into the region 

 of vacuity, and, fluttering there for a moment, sings his song of triumph. 

 The Eagle cast a glance of mortified pride upon him, which he heeded 

 not, but seizing a feather of his rival's neck, descended in safety to the 

 ground, to receive the prize impartially adjudged by the astonished con- 

 clave. The moral of the fable is, that cunning may supply the lack of 

 power. 



I know not a more pleasant object to look at than the Wren, it is al- 

 ways so smart and cheerful. In gloomy waather, other birds often seem 

 melancholy, and in rain the Sparrows and Finches stand silent on the 

 twigs with drooping wings and clotted plumage. But to the Wren all 

 weathers are alike. The big drops of the thunder-shower no more wet it 

 than the drizzle of a Scotch mist ; and as it peeps from beneath the 

 bramble, or glances from a hole in the wall, it seems as snug as a kitten 

 frisking on the rug. 



It is amusing to watch the motions of a young family of Wrens just 

 come abroad ; but this we must defer until the month of June, when the 

 juniper and whin bushes of the Pentland Hills will afford them the necessary 

 shelter. 



BOJE S CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



( Continued.') 



Melizophilus, Leach Sylvia provincialis. 



Vireo, Vieitt Muscicapa viridis, Linn M. noveboracensis, Linn. 



Fam. VII. Merulidae, Vigors. 



Merula. — Turdus Merula, Linn. 



Turdus, Linn T. viscivorus, Linn. 



Cinclus, Beclist C. aquaticus, Bechsl. 



Grallina, Vieill Tanypus, Oppel G. melanoleuca, Vieitt. 



Dandalus Motacilla Rubecula, Linn. 



Petrocossyphus Turdus saxatilis, Linn. 



Mimus, Briss. — Turdus polyglottus, Linn. 



Myioturdus Turdus rex, Linn. 



Pitta, Vieitt P. erythrogastra, Cuv. 



Myiophoneus, Temm Pitta glaucina, Temm. 



Rupicola, Briss. — R. peruviana, Briss. 

 Fam. VIII. Motacillidse Motacilla, Linn. 



Motacilla, Linn M. alba, Linn. 



Budytes, Cuv Motacilla flava, Linn. 



Enicurus, Temm E. velatus, Temm. col. 160. 



Vitiflora, Briss Turdus leucurus. 



Saxicola, Bechst. — Sylvia Rubetra, Lath. 

 Fam. IX Myiotheridae. 



Pomatorhynchus, Horsf. — Le Tochagra, Vaill. Afr. pi. 70- 



Lalage. — Turdus orientalis, Gmel. 



Pycnonotus, Kuhl Turdus capensis, Linn. 



Timalia, Horsf. — Pitta thoracica, Temm. 



Laniarius, Vieill. — Turdus ceylonus, Gmel. 



Pelicinius Lanius barbarus, Gm. 



Dryoscopus Lanius Cubla, Vaill. Afr. pi. 72. 



Myagrus Turdus auritus, Lath. 



Myiothera, Illig M. fulginosa, Illig. 



Fam. X. Muscicapidae, Vigors. — Muscicapa, Linn. 

 Butalis. — Muscicapa Grisola, Linn. 

 Hypothesis Muse, cserulea, Vaill. Afr. pi. 153. 



