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THE HOUSE WREN. 
Troglodytes ^edon, Vieill . 
PLATE CXX. — Male, Female, and Young. 
I 
From whence the House Wren comes, or to what parts it retires during 
winter, -is more than I have been able to ascertain. Although it is extremely 
abundant in the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Mary- 
land, from the middle of April until the beginning of October, I have never 
been able to Pace its motions, nor do I know of any naturalist in our own 
country, or indeed in any other, who has been more fortunate. 
Its flight is short, generally low, and performed by a constant tremor of 
the wings, without any jerks of either the body or tail, although the latter 
is generally seen erect, unless when the bird is singing, when it is always 
depressed. When passing from one place to another, during the love-season, 
or whilst its mate is sitting, this sweet little bird flutters still more slowly 
through the air, singing all the while. It is sprightly, active, vigilant, and 
courageous. It delights in being near and about the gardens, orchards, and 
the habitations of man, and is frequently found in abundance in the very 
centre of our eastern cities, where many little boxes are put up against the 
walls of houses, or the trunks of trees, for its accommodation, as is also 
done in the country. In these it nestles and rears its young. It is seldom, 
however, at a loss for a breeding place, it being satisfied with any crevice or 
hole in the walls, the sill of a window, the eaves, the stable, the barn, or the 
upper side of a piece of timber, under the roof of a piazza. Now and then, 
its nest may be seen in the hollow branch of an apple tree. I knew of 
one in the pocket of an old broken-down carriage, and many in such an old 
hat as you see represented in the plate, the little creatures anxiously peeping 
out or hanging to the side of the hat, to meet their mother, who has just 
arrived with a spider, whilst the male is on the lookout, ready to interpose 
should any intruder come near. The same nest is often resorted to for 
several successive years, merely receiving a little mending. 
The familiarity of the House Wren is extremely pleasing. In Penn- 
sylvania a pair of these birds had formed a nest, and the female was sitting 
in a hole of the wall, within a few inches of my (literally so-called) drawing- 
room. The male was continually singing within a few feet of my wife and 
myself, whilst I was engaged in portraying birds of other species. When the 
Vol. II. . 21 
