The House When. BIRDS. The Lyre Bird. 321 
comparison to the size of the architect ; it is usually 
oval in its form, with a dome-like roof, and with a 
small hole for entrance either at the end or at the side. 
The materials of which it is composed vary according 
to the situation chosen for the structure. “ If built 
against the side of a hayrick,” says Montagu, “ it is com- 
posed 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 female usually lays from seven to ten eggs, but 
this number is sometimes greatly exceeded, and as 
many as sixteen or seventeen eggs have been found in 
a wren’s nest. When we consider that the Wren pro- 
duces two of these enormous broods in a season, we 
may have some idea of the great amount of exertion 
that must be necessary on the part of the parents to 
supply so many mouths with the requisite quantity of 
insects and worms. 
THE HOUSE WREN {Troglodytes domcsticus), an 
inhabitant of the United States of America, where it 
is a bird of passage, is a more familiar bird, and also a 
far better songster than our common species. It is 
about four indies and a half in length, but has a longer 
tail and a longer and more curved bill than the 
European wren ; its colour is deep brown abov'e with 
transverse black bars on the back ; the throat and 
breast are light brown, and the belly is mottled with 
black, brown, and white. In many respects, the habits 
of this species resemble those of our robin, especially 
its familiarity, boldness, and pugnacity. It haunts the 
gardens, and commonly builds about houses ; where, 
as it is a great favourite, boxes are not unfrequently 
placed for the reception of its nest. The materials of 
the nest consist of small twigs, straws, and similar 
articles, and the interior is furnished with a warm 
lining of feathers. In this snug cradle the female lays 
from six to nine eggs, and the birds generally rear two 
broods in a season, the first in June, the second in 
July. As the food both of the parent birds and of the 
young consists of insects, especially caterpillars, the 
quantity of these noxious inmates of the garden de- 
stroyed by them must be very great, and their presence 
about the houses is highly beneficial. In defending 
their nests, the wrens exhibit great courage, often 
attacking birds twice as large as themselves, generally 
with success. 
THE MARSH WREN {Thryot/wrus palustris), another 
North American species, is also a migratory bird, arriv- 
ing in the latitude of Pennsylvania about the middle 
of May. It takes up its abode amongst the reeds and 
other plants bordering the rivers, and rarely moves to 
any distance from their banks. Its food consists of 
small flying insects, larvoe, and a species of green grass- 
hopper which inhabits the reeds. Its note is described 
by Wilson as a low crackling sound, resembling that pro- 
duced by air-bubbles forcing their way through mud in 
boggy ground when trod upon. As if in compensation 
for this want of musical talent, as Wilson remarks, the 
Marsh Wren exhibits architectural powers of the highest 
order. The nest is composed externally “ of wet rushes 
mixed with mud, well intertwisted, and fashioned into 
the form of a cocoa-nut. A small hole is left two- 
VoL. 1. 4> 
thirds up for entrance, the upper edge of which pro- 
jects like a pent-house over the lower, to prevent the 
admission of rain. The inside is lined with fine soft 
grass, and sometimes with feathers ; and the outside, 
when hardened by the sun, resists every kind of weather. 
This nest is generally suspended among the reeds, 
above the reach of the highest tides, and is tied so fast 
in every part to the surrounding reeds as to bid defiance 
to the winds and the waves.” The eggs laid in this 
comfortable little abode are usually six in miinber, and 
the birds commonly rear two broods in the season. 
The Marsh Wren is five inches long. The upper- 
parts are of a dark brown colour, except the top of the 
head, the back of the neck, and the middle of the back, 
which are black, streaked with white on the neck and 
back ; the tail is short and barred with black ; a white 
streak runs over each eye and down each side of the 
neck, and the lower parts are white. 
THE LYRE-BIRD {Menura superba) — Plate 9, fig. 31. 
We conclude this family of diminutive birds, with a 
notice of an Australian species, which must rank as a 
giant among tire members of a group so dwarfish. This 
bird is furiher i-emarkable from the puzzling nature of 
its characters, which long rendered its true place in the 
system very doubtful, the species having been placed 
originally with the gallinaceous birds, and afterwards in 
various positions amongst the Passeres. Mr. G. R. Gray 
considers the nearest affinities of the Lyre-bird to be 
with the Wrens, where we place it ; some other recent 
writers consider it to be more nearly allied to the Ant- 
thrushes {Formicarice), belonging to the succeeding 
section of the Passeres. 
The Lyre-bird {Menura superba), which was de- 
scribed just sixty years ago, has a rather long and 
robust bill, a crested head, and a tail composed of very 
long and broad feathers, of which the two external ones 
are of the ordinary structure, but beautifully curved so 
as to represent the two sides of a lyre, whilst the rest 
are furnished only with long, slender, and distant barbs, 
so that the whole, when carried in the habitual erect 
position, form a most elegant tail. The legs and feet 
are long and strong, greatly resembling those of a gal- 
linaceous bird at first sight, although the great develop- 
ment of the hinder toe and its claw is not common in 
that order. The toes also have no membrane to unite 
them at the base. The tarsus and toes are covered 
with shield-like plates. The general colour of the 
plumage is brown, with red tints upon the secondary 
quills, the upper tail-coverts, and the chin and throat ; 
the lower surface is brownish-ash colour; the two outer 
feathers of the tail have the barbs long on the inside, 
and short on the outside, the inner barbs becoming less 
close towards the apex; these feathers are greyish- 
brown on the upper surface, and white beneath near 
the base ; beyond this they are marked with bands of 
greyish and reddish-brown, and terminated by a black 
patch. The total length of the bird is about three feet 
and a half. In size and general aspect it presents no 
small resemblance to a pheasant, and it is known to 
the colonists of New South Wales under the name of 
the Wood Pheasant. Its habits also, in some respects, 
are very similar to those of a. gallinaceous bird ; it 
dwells principally on the ground, where it runs with 
