﻿Common Birds in Relation to Agriculture. 521 . 



probably does just as good work in its secluded retreats 

 as it would about the garden, for the swamps and groves 

 are no doubt the breeding grounds of many insects that 

 migrate thence to attack the farmers' crops. 



THE HOUSE WREN. 



(Troglodytes a'edon.) 



The diminutive house wren frequents barns and gardens, 

 and particularly old orchards in which the trees are par- 

 tially decayed. He makes his nest in a hollow branch 

 where perhaps a woodpecker had a domicile the year 

 before, but he is a pugnacious character, and if he happens 

 to fancy one of the boxes that have been put up for the 

 bluebirds, he does not hesitate to take it. He is usually 

 received with favor, and is not slow to avail himself of 

 boxes, gourds, tin cans, or empty jars placed for his 

 accommodation. 



As regards food habits, the house wren is entirely 

 beneficial. Practically, he can be said to live upon animal 

 food alone, for an examination of 52 stomachs showed 

 that 98 per cent, of the stomach contents was made up of 

 insects or their allies, and only 2 per cent, was vegetable, 

 including bits of grass and similar matter, evidently taken 

 by accident with the insects. Half of this food consisted 

 of grasshoppers and beetles ; the remainder of caterpillars, 

 bugs and spiders. As the house wren is a prolific breeder, 

 frequently rearing from twelve to sixteen young in a sea- 

 son, a family of these birds must cause considerable 

 reduction in the number of insects in a garden. Wrens 

 are industrious foragers, searching every tree, shrub, or 

 vine for caterpillars, examining every post and rail of the 

 fence and every cranny in the wall for insects or spiders. 

 They do not, as a rule, fty far afield, but work industri- 

 ously in the immediate vicinity of their nests. In this 

 way they become valuable aids in the garden or orchard, 

 and by providing suitable nesting boxes they may be 



