214 ornithologist's text-book. ivy wren. 



ties, though I once found one situated inside an 

 old Garden Thrush's nest, in a Portugal laurel. 

 Frequently also the nests in which one or two 

 broods had been reared in summer, are tenanted 

 every night throughout the winter, — whether by 

 the old or the young birds, is a question more cu- 

 rious than easy to determine, on account of the 

 difficulty — almost amounting to impossibility — of 

 catching the birds at night. This I have frequently 

 endeavoured to effect, but without success. It is 

 probable, however, that it would be impracticable 

 for all the young birds to stuff themselves into one 

 nest, and thus, whether the summer fabrication be 

 tenanted by old or young, the rest must find beds 

 for themselves elsewhere. And this they do, either 

 framing a new domicile, or roosting in holes of 

 thatch, and, very commonly, in ivy-clad walls and 

 trees, where in very severe weather, I have found 

 them, at different times, frozen to death. 



I have already expressed an opinion, that the 

 Ivy Wren may pair for life ; and this supposition is 

 greatly strengthened by the circumstance of two birds 

 generally (always?) assisting in the construction of 

 the winter retreats. I have never known an in- 

 stance in which the tenement was constructed by 

 solitary labor, and I am enabled to speak the more 

 positively on this point, from having frequently ob- 

 served the operations of the skilful little architects, 

 from behind a bush or tree. The winter nests 

 seldom or never contain feathers, but in other re- 

 spects they agree with the usual structures. I do 

 not think it a very common occurrence for this bird 

 to build in autumn or winter, as, if it can have its 

 summer nest to lodge in at night, or if it can dis- 

 cover a suitable hole in a thatched roof, there is no 

 necessity for fabricating a duplicate, but, in this 

 neighborhood at least, it is not very rare. 



One point, regarding the nidification of this 



