48 THE WREN 



horizontal branch; along this it proceeds in hke manner, being 

 indifferent whether it cHngs sideways, or hangs with its back down- 

 wards. Arrived at the smaller subdivisions of the bough it ceases 

 to hunt ; but, without remaining an instant to rest, flies to the 

 base of another bough, or more probably, to another tree, alighting 

 a few feet only from the ground, and at once beginning a new ascent 

 This mode of life it never varies : from morning to night, in winter 

 and in summer, it is always climbing up the boles of trees, and 

 when it has reached the top, flying to the base of others. On one 

 solitary occasion I observed one retrace its steps for a few inches, 

 and stand for a second or two with its head downwards ; but this 

 is a most unusual position, as indeed may be inferred from the 

 structure of its tail, the feathers of which are rigid, and more or 

 less soiled by constant pressure against the bark. It frequently 

 visits orchards and gardens in the country, displa57ing little fear 

 of man, preferring perhaps to hunt on the far side of a tree when 

 any one is looking on ; but not very particular even about this, 

 and certainly never thinking it necessary to decamp because it is 

 being watched. To this indifference to the presence of human 

 beings, it owes its name ' familiaris', and not, as it might be imagined, 

 to any fondness for their society, which, in fact, it neither courts 

 nor shuns. It is a quiet inoffensive creature, congregating with 

 no other birds, and being rarely, except in spring, seen in company 

 with even its own species. It builds its nest of small roots and 

 twigs, scraps of bark and grass, and lines it with wool and feathers. 

 A hole in a poUard wUlow is a favourite place for a nest ; in default 

 of this a hoUow in any other tree is selected, or the space between 

 the stump of a tree and a detached portion of bark ; and it chooses 

 the straw eaves of some shed. It lays from six to nine eggs, which 

 are exceedingly like those of the smaller Tits. 



FAMILY TROGLODYTID.E 



THE WREN 



tr6glodytes pArvulus 



Upper plumage reddish brown with transverse dusky bars ; quills barred 

 alternately with black and reddish brown ; tail dusky, barred with black ; 

 over the eyes a narrow light streak ; under parts light reddish brown ; 

 the sides and thighs marked with dark streaks. Length three inches 

 and three-quarters ; breadth six inches and a half. Eggs white with a 

 few yellowish red spots towards the larger end, sometimes without spots. 



Throughout the whole of England the Wren is invested with a 

 sanctity peculiar to itself and the Redbreast. In the west of 

 England I was familiar, as a child, with the doggerel rhymes : 



