BIRD LEGEND AND LIFE 



been that the bahny summer morning, with its incense-laden 

 breezes, drew the song from his throat; or possibly he was 

 just so full of music he must needs express it. Who knows? 



When it came to providing for a family, the little fel- 

 low began to show the effects of a purposeless youth spent 

 in lolling about on the Heidelberg grass. It is useless to 

 deny it. He was a poor provider, allowing his mate to bring 

 every scrap of food that went into the begging mouths of 

 their himgry brood. With him, concentrated effort seemed 

 impossible. Though he was active enough, his activities were 

 nearly always misdirected. All his domestic energies seemed 

 to have been spent in the building of the superfluous nest. 

 The little ones seemed to interest him for a time — ^he occa- 

 sionally went to look at them — ^but never to the extent of 

 providing for them. He often sang lullabies to them, to be 

 sure, but sometimes, while he was singing these, even, the 

 flighty httle fellow — ^with one eye always on the main chance 

 = — broke off in the very midst of his lay to fly away after a 

 passing insect. 



Those who beheve all wrens unsusceptible to the softer 

 emotions, should watch a mother wren busying herself with 

 the care of her nestlings. There, every move, every soft little 

 chirp, expresses maternity. And how she works for them! 

 On an average of once in every two and a half minutes, 

 through the livelong day, she brings food to them, when 

 every mouthful has done its tiny best to escape from her — 

 for none but active, living things are deemed good enough 

 for the wrenlets. The menu provided includes caterpillars, 

 grasshoppers, spiders, gnats, flies, beetles, bugs, myriapods 

 and locusts, all of which are served in the best of style ; the 

 wings and legs are removed from beetles and grasshoppers, 

 while spiders are presented as legless balls. Being exclusive- 



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