THE MARSH WRENS. 



A happier pair of birds than 

 these little Wrens it would be 

 hard to find. 



They have just come up from 

 taking their morning bath and 

 are going to sing a while before 

 going to work on their nests. 



You see I say nests. That is 

 a strange thing about the Wrens, 

 they build several ~ nests. I 

 wonder if you can tell why they 

 do this. If you can't, ask your 

 teacher about it. 



It is a little too early in the 

 season or I would have one of 

 the nests in the picture for you 

 to look at. 



I will try to describe it to you, 

 so that you will know it when 

 you see it. These little Wrens 

 make their nests of coarse 

 grasses, reed stalks, and such 

 things, lined with fine grasses. 

 It is round like a ball, or 

 nearly so, and has the open- 

 ing in the side. They fasten 

 them to the reeds and bushes. 



If you wish to get acquainted 

 with these birds, you must visit 



the tall grasses and cat-tails 

 along rivers and creeks and in 

 marshes. 



You won't have to let them 

 know that you are coming; they 

 will see you long before you see 

 them, and from their little nests 

 they will begin to scold you, for 

 fear that you mean to do them 

 harm. 



When they see that you mean 

 them no harm, they will begin 

 to entertain you with their 

 songs. Oh, how they do sing ! 

 It just seems as though they 

 would burst with song. 



You can see how happy the 

 one is in the picture. The other 

 little fellow will soon take his 

 turn. See how straight he holds 

 his tail up. Find out all you 

 can about these Wrens. You 

 notice they have long bills. We 

 call them Long-billed Marsh 

 Wrens. There are several other 

 kinds. You surely must have 

 seen their cousins, the House 

 Wrens. I will show you their 

 pictures some day. 



1^80 



