Troglodytes aedon, House Wren, Breeding in a Sand Bank.— Of all 



the quaint places this familiar little busybody could choose in which to 

 lay its eggs and rear its young, one might imagine a sand bank, the 

 common home of Bank Swallows and Kingfishers, to be the most singular 

 and unusual. The fact that a House Wren might be found thus breeding 

 may not be surprising to all observing ornithologists, but it certainly 

 must be to most of them. On August i, 1888, while Dr. B. H. Warren, 

 State Ornithologist of Pennsylvania, and I were driving up one of the 

 ravines leadinc' from the beautiful Bay at Erie, Pennsylvania, the Doctor s 

 keen eye caught sight of a House Wren as it darted into a Kingfisher's 

 hole in the almost perpendicular bank about ten feet from the roadway. 

 By the aid of a fence rail and easy digging the young, already able to fly, 

 were caught in the hand, and the nest secured. I had already been in- 

 terested in observing a pair of Wrens that had taken possession of a Blue- 

 bird's nest in the hollow limb of an apple tree in the dooryard of my 

 summer house, but the taking for its own domicile this home of our large 

 Kingfisher cast completely into the shade all I had known of the bird's 

 housekeeping achievements, in which tin pails, kettles, skulls, and the 

 like had figured.— Geo. B. Sennett, New Tork City. 



Allk,TI.J»n., 188©.p. 74 



TroKlodytes aedon, House Wren, Building in a Hornets' Nest. - 

 Among the variety of novel nesting places chosen by this little bird I 

 probably have witnessed one unobserved before by ornithologists. On 

 May 18, 1889, near Chelsea, Delaware Co., Pennsylvania, I observed a 

 pair of Wrens diligently engaged in lugging sticks into a large hornets 

 nest which was hanging under the cornice of an old farmhouse. Near 

 the top of the nest a cavity had been excavated, evidently by the birds, as 

 the ground underneath was strewn with its fragments. I was unable 

 afterwards to visit that locality, but from inquiry feel confident, they suc- 

 ceeded in rearing their brood unmolested.-J. Harris Reed, Chester, Pa. 



Aak.Vl. Oct., 1S80.P. 53^^' '^HO 



The Nest of the House Wren.— Some writer speaks of the well 

 known habit of the House Wren of filling up any cavity within which it 

 builds its nest with sticks and rubbish, as a "survival" of an old habit 

 for which there would seem to be no present use. I think I have seen this 

 statement in some of the writings of Dr. Elliott Coues, though I cannot 

 refer to the book or page. Possibly it may have been stated by some one 

 else. But it is a generally recognized fact that if a box holds half a peck 

 the little birds will fill it up full ! It seems to me, however, that while this 

 may be really a '-survival," it is still a most useful habit. When a hole 

 or 'space is so filled the nest proper is generally built on the side of the 

 mass of rubbish opposite to the entrance and as far as possible from it. 

 Manifestly there is a clear purpose in this— viz : that of protection, from 

 any enemy seeking an entrance. I have observed many nests, in large 

 cigar boxes, and in the majority find this state of things to exist. The 

 interior space will be filled with sticks, leaving a little passage way over 

 the top, through which the bird can reach the nest on the back side of the 

 rubbish. It seems to me that this is clearly a defensive habit, necessary 

 at this time. When they bujld a nest in the skull of a horse or ox, it will 

 be found that they follow the same rule, and that it will be very difficult to 

 get at the nests. 



But their practices are sometimes varied. If a box is not too large, and 

 the hole is only large enough to admit of the passage of the birds, they 

 will often carry in only just enough material to build the nest, leaving 

 the space all open above. I have often known them to pursue this 

 course in building in a cigar box where a small hole had been made at the 

 middle of one of the sides. But if the box is a large one with a large 

 hole cut through the end near the top, as it is suspended on a tree or the 

 side of a building, then they will carry in "fully a peCk of rubbish," 

 and build the soft nest down on the side opposite the entrance.— Charles 

 Aldrich. Welnter City, loiva. EOlLN.O.O. 7,Jaly. 18Q2. P. f^O-/S/ 



