THE WOOD WREN. 



never be mistaken for those of any 

 other bhd. 



Its nest is built on the ground amongst 

 thick herbage, is oval in shape, and 

 domed. The outside consists of dry 

 grass, dead leaves, and moss, with an 

 inner lining of fine dead grass and horse- 

 hair. Although in general appearance 

 the structure is almost exactly like those 

 of the Willow Wren and Chiffchaff, it 

 may always be distinguished with cer- 

 tainty from them by the absence of 

 feathers. 



The eggs, numbering five or six, are 

 white, thickly spotted all over with 

 dark purplish-brown and violet-grey. 



The song, although short, is clear, 

 loud, sweet, oft repeated, and sounds 

 something like sit-sii-sit-stt-sit-sce-eeeeeze. 

 Each of the opening notes of the song is 

 uttered more rapidly than that which 

 preceded it, until they develop into a 

 kind of trill, rising in pitch all the time, 

 and finally end m a long, shaky, thin 

 one. The melody is accompanied by 

 rapid vibrations of the wings and tail, 

 as if the loud voice shook the body of 

 the wee singer. 



The call note is a plaintive twee 

 or tway iway, frequently used as a 



41 



