38 Birds Every Child Should Know 
and retiring you will probably never become 
well acquainted with it. It delights in mossy, 
rocky woods near running water. But a larger 
chestnut brown cousin, the Carolina wren, with 
a prominent white eyebrow, a bird which is quite 
common in the Middle and Southern States, 
sometimes nests in outbuildings and in all sorts 
of places about the farm. However, he too 
really prefers the forest undergrowths near 
water, fallen logs, half decayed stumps, and 
mossy rocks where insects lurk but cannot hide 
from his sharp, peering eyes. Now here, now 
there, appearing and disappearing, never at 
rest, even his expressive tail being in constant 
motion, he seems more nervously active than 
Jenny Wren’s fidgety husband. 
Some people call him the mocking wren, 
but I think he never deliberately tries to imitate 
other birds. Why should he? It is true that 
his loud-ringing, three-syllabled whistle, ''Tea 
ket-tle, Tea-ket-tle, Tea-ket-tle” suggests the 
crested titmouse’s " peto” of two syllables, but 
in quality only ; and some have thought that his 
whistled notes are difficult to distinguish from 
the one-syllabled, but oft-repeated, long-drawn 
quoit of the cardinal. These three birds are 
frequently to be heard in the same neighbour- 
hood and you may easily compare their voices ; 
but if you listen carefully, I think you will not 
accuse the wren of trying to mock either of the 
