BIRDS 109 



or twice of late years as seen in the same district, but not by 

 any one possessed of an intimate acquaintance with the bird. 

 As long ago as 1782 a pair of Nuthatches were shot at Arma- 

 thwaite. Most likely they had intended to breed there. At all 

 events they were sent to Dr. Heysham on the 11th of May. 

 There is some reason to think that a single Nuthatch visited a 

 garden near Silloth on and after September 24th, 1889. The 

 description given by those who saw it agreed closely with the 

 appearance of the Nuthatch. I mention the circumstance, not 

 because the identification was complete — no ornithologist saw it 

 — but merely as a hint to local observers, who should look out 

 for the bird. It is a little surprising that the Nuthatch of the 

 north of Europe, Sitta europcea, has not been detected as a rare 

 visitant to the British Isles. Its addition to the British list is 

 probably merely a question of time, but like other rare birds it 

 is much more likely to occur in the eastern portions of Britain 

 than among the mountains of Lakeland. 



Order PASSERES. Fam. TROGLODYTIDjE. 



WREN. 



Troglodytes parvulus, Koch. 



Abundant throughout our faunal area, the Common Wren is 

 nowhere perhaps more thoroughly at home than at St. Bees, 

 where its loud and cheering song rings lustily along the sand- 

 stone precipices, especially where the broken cliffs slope gradu- 

 ally towards the sea, affording considerable shelter for small 

 birds. Many unlikely spots hold a Wren's nest. The materials 

 used are also very various. Not the least curious is one found 

 near Cumwhinton in the spring of 1891, by Mr. Little. This 

 nest is of the usual shape and proportions, but the material used 

 for the exterior portions is exclusively stout straw, with a slight 

 addition, in the crown, of common hay. This nest gives the 

 impression of one run up in a hurry of the nearest materials ; 

 perhaps the bird niched all the materials from a stable or farm- 

 yard. The straws used are remarkably large and coarse to have 

 been employed by so small a bird. 



During the autumn solitary individuals haunt the smaller 



