270 CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



THE COMMON WREN. 



The Common Wren (Troglodytes parvulus) is about four inches long, and from five inches and 

 a half to six inches broad ; the wing measures an inch and three-quarters and the tail about an inch 

 and a half. Upon the upper portion of the body the plumage is reddish brown, streaked with pale 

 black ; the under side is paler, marked with undulating dark brown lines ; a brown cheek-stripe passes 

 across the eyes, and a narrow brownish white line above them. The centre feathers in the wing- 

 covers are decorated with oval white patches, touched with black ; the quills are deepish grey on the 

 inner web, and on the outer alternately spotted or streaked with reddish yellow and black ; the 

 tail-feathers are reddish brown, lightest at the edges, and marked with undulating dark brown lines ; 

 the eye is brown ; the beak and feet reddish grey. The female is paler than her mate, and the 

 young have more spots on the under side, and fewer on the back, than the old birds. The Wren 

 inhabits all parts of the continent of Europe, from Northern Scandinavia to the most southern 

 confines of Spain and Greece ; in the Faroe Islands it is replaced by a very similar but much larger 

 species (Troglodytes borealis) ; and another but more spotted variety ( Troglodytes Naumanni) is met 

 with in some parts of Central Europe. In North-western Africa and Asia Minor it is also common, 

 but is, we believe, never seen in other parts of Asia. Such as inhabit India are nearly allied but not 

 identical species. Like most members of its family, the Common Wren is lively and social, 

 constantly seeking the immediate vicinity of man. Its song consists of a great variety of clear piping 

 notes, intermingled with numerous trills, and is poured out with an energy and power that appear 

 really astonishing, if we consider the small dimensions of the little singer. Throughout almost the 

 entire year this cheerful music is to be heard ; no inclemency of weather appears to daunt the brisk 

 but diminutive vocalist, who carols forth his joyful anticipations of the coming spring, even when the 

 snow-covered ground renders it impossible for him to procure a sufficient supply of food, and cold 

 and want have completely silenced all his feathered companions. Like those of other members of its 

 family, the movements of this species in the trees and on the ground are extremely agile and lively, 

 but its flight, even for a Wren, is weak and unsteady. So slight are its powers of endurance, that 

 Naumann assures us that a man can readily run it down and capture it with the hand. Indeed, a 

 curious practice, as we are told, " has prevailed from time immemorial in the south of Ireland, of 

 hunting this harmless little bird on Christmas Day. The hedges are beaten with sticks, and when 

 the unfortunate little creature is driven from its concealment, it is struck down with a second stick 

 carried by each hunter. On St. Stephen's Day the dead birds are hung by the children on an 

 ivy-bush decorated with bright ribbons, which they carry about with songs, and collect money to 

 ' bury the Wren.' This cruel piece of folly is, we are happy to learn, now falling into disuse." 



This pretty little bird lives principally upon insects and berries, and when these fall short, it 

 often ventures fearlessly into houses and outbuildings, in the hope of obtaining a meal. The situation 

 of the nest and the materials employed for building it vary considerably. Trinthammer mentions an 

 instance in which one of these birds made its nest year by year in the hut of some charcoal-burners, 

 following them season after season in all their wanderings ; indeed, it is not uncommon for a pair. to 

 build many times, before they have satisfied their fastidious requirements; and, strange to say, a 

 solitary male will often make several nests before it has selected a mate. Boenigk, who observed a 

 Wren attentively from April to August, tells us that the male constructed four nests before it took a 

 partner. After it had found a mate, both worked together at three different nests, each in succession 

 being left uncompleted, until at last the female, despairing of obtaining a place wherein to deposit her 

 eggs, deserted her capricious spouse, who consoled himsslf by constructing two more nests, which, 

 like the rest, were never employed. 



