A WOOD WREN AT WELLS 97 



on to the end of all the qualities which we regard 

 as important. What, then, is the charm of the 

 wood wren's song ? The sound is unlike any- 

 other, but that is nothing, since the same can be 

 said of the wryneck and cuckoo and grasshopper 

 warbler. To many persons the wood wren's note 

 is a bird-sound and nothing more, and it may 

 even surprise them to hear it called a song. 

 Indeed, some ornithologists have said that it is 

 not a song, but a call or cry, and it has also been 

 described as " harsh." 



I here recall a lady who sat next to me on the 

 coach that took me from Minehead to Lynton. 

 The lady resided at Lynton, and finding that I 

 was visiting the place for the first time, she 

 proceeded to describe its attractions with fluent 

 enthusiasm. When we arrived at the town, and 

 were moving very slowly into it, my companion 

 turned and examined my face, waiting to hear 

 the expressions of rapturous admiration that 

 would fall from my hps. Said I, " There is one 

 thing you can boast of in Lynton. So far as I 

 know, it is the only town in the country where, 

 sitting in your own room with the windows open, 



you can hsten to the song of the wood wren." 



H 



