134 HOUSE WREN. 



This little bird has a strong antipathy to cats ; for, having 

 frequent occasion to glean among the currant bushes, and 

 other shrubbery in the garden, those lurking enemies of the 

 feathered race often prove fatal to him. A box fitted up in 

 the window of the room where I slept was taken possession 

 of by a pair of wrens. Already the nest was built, and two 

 eggs laid, when one day, the window being open, as well as 

 the room door, the female wren, venturing too far into the 

 room to reconnoitre, was sprung upon by grimalkin, who had 

 planted herself there for the purpose ; and, before relief could 

 be given, was destroyed. Curious to see how the survivor 

 would demean himself, I watched him carefully for several 

 days. At first he sung with great vivacity for an hour or so, 

 but, becoming uneasy, went off for half an hour; on his return, 

 he chanted again as before, went to the top of the house, stable, 

 and weeping willow, that she might hear him ; but seeing no 

 appearance of her, he returned once more, visited the nest, 



small bulk, and tender-looking frame, they are very hardy, and brave 

 the severest winters of this country ; driven nearer to our houses from 

 the necessity of food, they seem to rejoice in a hard clear frost, singing 

 merrily on the top of some heap of brushwood, or sounding, in rapid 

 succession, their note of alarm, when disturbed by any unwelcome visi- 

 tor. A kitty-hunt, in a snowstorm, used to be a favourite amusement 

 with boys ; and many a tumble was got in the unseen ruggedness of the 

 ground when in pursuit. At any time when annoyed, a hole, or thick 

 heap of sticks, will form a refuge for this curious little bird, where it 

 will either remain quiet until the danger is over, or, if there is any under 

 way, will creep and run, escaping at another side ; in like manner, it 

 will duck and dive in the openings or hollows of the snow, and at the 

 moment when capture seems inevitable, will escape at some distant 

 opening, disappointing the hopes of the urchin who already anticipated 

 possession. 



"We must here mention, in addition to the already described North 

 American species, one figured by Mr Audubon, and dedicated to an 

 artist, who will be long remembered by the British ornithologist, Trog- 

 lodytes Beidclcii. Mr Audubon has killed three specimens of it in 

 Louisiana, and observes, " In shape, form, colour, and movements, it 

 nearly resembles the great Carolina wren, and forms a kind of link be- 

 tween that bird and the house wren. It has not the quickness of motion, 

 nor the liveliness of either of these birds." — Ed. 



