186 
TROGLODYTES CEDON. 
for several days. At first he sung 1 with great vivacity 
for an hour or so, hut, becoming uneasy, went off for 
half an hour ; on his return, he chanted again as before, 
went to the top of the house, stable, and weeping 
willow, that she might hear him ; but seeing no appear- 
ance of her, he returned once more, visited the nest, 
ventured cautiously into the window, gazed about with 
suspicious looks, his voice sinking to a low melancholy 
note, as he stretched his little neek about in every 
direction. Returning to the box, he seemed for some 
minutes at a loss what to do, and soon after went off, 
as I thought, altogether, for I saw him no more that 
day. Towards the afternoon of the second day, he again 
made his appearance, accompanied with a new female, 
who seemed exceedingly timorous and shy, and who, 
after great hesitation, entered the box ; at this moment 
the little w r idow r er or bridegroom seemed as if he would 
warble out his very life with ecstasy of joy. After 
remaining about half a minute in, they both flew off, 
but returned in a few r minutes, and instantly began to 
carry out the eggs, feathers, and some of the sticks, 
supplying the place of the tw r o latter w r ith materials of 
the same sort ; and ultimately succeeded in raising a 
brood of seven young, all of which escaped in safety. 
The immense number of insects which this sociable 
little bird removes from the garden and fruit trees, 
ought to endear him to every cultivator, even if he had 
nothing else to recommend him ; but his notes, loud, 
sprightty, tremulous, and repeated every few r seconds 
with great animation, are extremely agreeable. In the 
heat of summer, families in the country often dine 
under the piazza adjoining green canopies of mantling 
grape vines, gourds, &c. wdiile overhead the trilling 
vivacity of the wren, mingled with the warbling mimicry 
of the cat bird, and the distant, softened sounds of 
numerous other songsters, form a soul-soothing and 
almost heavenly music, breathing peace, innocence, and 
rural repose. The European who judges of the song 
of this species by that of his ow n wren, ( m. troglo- 
dytes ,) will do injustice to the former, as in strength 
