206 ORNITHOLOGIST'S TEXT-BOOK. IVY WREN. 



Ivy Wren, Chaff Finch (Fringilla coolebs, Linn.), 

 and others, which have hitherto been supposed to 

 select a fresh mate every year, pair for life. At 

 least I am certain of this, that many of the pairs 

 remain attached through the winter, though with 

 regard to their coupling for life, it is impossible to 

 speak with certainty. 



The song of this bird is short in stave, harsh, 

 and remarkably loud in proportion to the size of 

 the body. It may perhaps be reckoned amongst 

 the most trivial of our feathered choristers, but the 

 song is more prized than it would otherwise be, 

 on account of its being frequently heard in mid- 

 winter, when a mere scream would almost seem 

 sweet, especially if it proceeded from the throat of 

 so tiny a bird as the Ivy Wren. And thus, insig- 

 nificant and humble — with regard to musical merit 

 ^as are its strains, I always listen to them with 

 delight during the dreary winter months, though 

 we are apt to overlook them altogether in fairer 

 times. In fact, interesting as are some of the 

 habits of this species, and lively as is its general 

 expression, the sight of it always conveys to one's 

 mind the idea of cold, of snow, and of winter 

 faggots, even during the ardent heat of midsummer. 

 It often commences singing so early as January, 

 mostly taking its stand on a heap of sticks, a log 

 of wood, a hedge abounding with dead underwood, 

 or the top sprig of a currant bush. Were it not 

 that the bird is generally so conspicuous while 

 singing, it would be difficult to persuade ourselves 

 that the notes proceeded from a bird of such small 

 dimensions, so loud and clear are they. It often 

 carols also whilst flying from bush to bush, in the 

 manner of the Warblers (Sylvia J, and I have even 

 known a male bird sing in the act of pursuing one 

 of its kind along a hedge. 



As a song bird, it is certainly not worth pre- 



