572 
WREN. 
a fact which he professes to have himself witnessed, in company with 
the celebrated Kircher, at Rome, they being commanded to try the 
experiment by a certain eminent Cardinal, who furnished the bird, and 
a hazel rod for a spit. At first they despaired of success ; but just as 
Kircher, who had lost all patience, was going away, the spit (mirahile 
dictu) began to turn slowly ! ! I ' Those who keep Wrens in cages 
usually furnish them with a box lined and covered with cloth, having 
a hole for entrance, where they may roost warmly during the night. ^ 
Yet even in keen frost the Wren does not seem in the day time to care 
much for cold, since I have in such cases frequently heard it singing as 
merrily as if it had been enjoying the sunshine of summer, contrary to 
the remark of White, that Wrens do not sing in frosty weather.^* 
This pretty little bird, like the redbreast, frequently approaches the 
habitation of man, and enlivens the rustic garden with its song the 
greater part of the year. It begins to make a nest early in the spring, 
but frequently deserts it before it is lined, and searches for a more 
secure place. It is frequently made under the thatch of out-buildings, 
against the side of a mossy tree, or against an impending bank that 
secures it from the rain ; sometimes in a low thick bush. But what is 
remarkable, the materials of the nest are generally adapted to the 
place ; if built beside a hayrick, it is composed of hay ; if against the 
side of a tree covered with white moss, it is made of that material; and 
with green moss if against a tree covered with the same, or in a bank. 
Thus instinct directs it for security. The lining is invariably feathers. 
The eggs are seven or eight in number, white, sparingly marked with 
small reddish spots, most commonly at the larger end ; their weight 
about twenty grains. 
* The Wren does not begin at the bottom of its nest first, which is 
usual with most birds, but, if against a tree, first traces the outline of the 
nest which is of an oval shape, and by that means fastens it equally strong 
to all parts, and afterwards encloses the sides and top, leaving only a 
small hole near the top for entrance. If the nest is placed under a 
bank, the top is first begun, and well secured in some small cavity, by 
which the fabric is suspended. 
The usual staple material of the nest is green moss, {Hypnwm velu- 
tinum, ^c.') which it collects in great quantity, and apparently to save 
itself the trouble of frequent journeys for materials, it carries, as in the 
instance to be mentioned, a tuft of moss nearly as bulky as itself. I have 
Phys. Curiosffi, p. 1249. ^ Syme, Brit. Song Birds, p. 159. 
^ Selborne, Lett. 60. 
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