100 MOTACILLA. 
expedted from the fize of the bird ; it continues through¬ 
out the year. This little warbler will fing unconcerned 
even during the fall of fnow; and fo it does alfo very late 
in the evening, though not after dark, like the nightin¬ 
gale. It generally carries the tail eredt. 
As a devourer of pernicious infedts, the wren is one of 
the mod ufeful birds. This little bird feems peculiarly 
fond of the fociety of man; and it mult be confefied that 
it is often protected by his interefted care. It has long 
been a cuitom, in many parts of the country, to fix a 
fmali box at the end of a long pole, in gardens, about 
houfes, &c. as a place for it to build in. In thefe boxes 
they build and hatch their young. When the young are 
hatched, the parent birds feed them with a variety of dif¬ 
ferent infedts, particularly fuch as are injurious in gar¬ 
dens. An intelligent gentleman was at the trouble to 
obferve the number of times a pair of thefe birds came 
from their box, and returned with infedts for their young. 
He found that they did this from forty to fixty times in 
an hour; and, in one particular hour, the birds carried 
food to their young feventy-one times. In this bufinels 
they were engaged the greater part of the day; fay twelve 
hours. Taking the medium, therefore, of fifty times in 
an hour, it appeared that a fingle pair of thefe birds took 
from the cabbage, falad, beans, peafe, and other vegeta¬ 
bles in the garden, at leaft, fix hundred infedls in the 
courfe of one day. This calculation proceeds upon the 
fuppofition, that the two birds took only a fingle infedt 
each time. But it is highly probable they often took 
feveral at a time. 
There are two varieties of the wren, which are confi- 
dered by Dr. Turton as diftindt fpecies. 
( 3 . M. Platenfis: fame fize with the European wren, 
but a trifle longer; the colours feern more diftindt, and 
the under parts paler; it wants alfo the ftreak over the 
eye. This is found in the neighbourhood of the river 
Plata in South America. 
y. M. Ludovifiana: much larger than the others, being 
five inches long: it differs from the common wren in 
having the cheeks mottled with dulky and whitilli; the 
under parts are pale rufous yellow, paleft on the throat 
and fides of the body. This inhabits Louifiana, and 
other parts of North America, and is faid to fing very 
pleafingly. 
204.. Motacilla fulva, the dark-brown wren: length 
four inches and a half: bill yellowifti brown ; general co¬ 
lour of the plumage dark brown ; paleft on the belly, and 
marked on the back, wings, and tail, with dulky bars; 
legs yellow brown. Fermin fays that it fings very agree¬ 
ably, infomuch that it is called the nightingale at Suri¬ 
nam, where it inhabits. 
205. Motacilla calendula, the ruby-crowned wren: 
length four inches : bill dulky ; on the crown of the head 
is a fpot of a ruby red, not bordered with black, as in the 
following; the upper parts are olive, but have a tinge of 
brown ; paleft on the rump ; the under parts are yellowilh 
white, inclining moft to yellow on the breaft; acrofs the 
wings two yellowilh bands; quills and tail as in the laft 
fpecies ; legs brown. The female has no red fpot on the 
head. This inhabits North America, where it feeds on 
the infedts which frequent the fpruce-firs, and runs up 
the trees in the manner of a titmoufe. 
BufFon mentions a bird which was fent to him from 
Louifiana, and he thinks it a variety of this: it differs 
chiefly in having the hind part of the head environed 
with a crown of crimfon. Mention is alfo made by Kolbe 
of a red-headed wren at the Cape of Good Hope. This, 
he fays, is bigger than the blue titmoufe; and has the 
wings black, and the legs reddifli. 
206. Motacilla regulus, the gold-crefted wren. This is 
the leaft bird in England, if not in Europe: its length 
only little more than three inches ; its weight feventy-lix 
grains. The bill is very flender, and black ; irides hazel; 
on the crown the feathers are golden orange-colour, 
bounded on each fide by black; the plumage on the up¬ 
per parts is yellowilh golden green, paleft on the rump ; 
under parts rufous white, with a greenifh tinge on the 
fides; wing-coverts dufky, crofted with two white bands ; 
quills and tail dufky, edged with pale green, and fome of 
the inner feathers have blackifh edges; legs yellowifti. 
The female has the colours paler, and the crown of the 
head yellow inftead of orange. This delicate fpecies in¬ 
habits England, where it abides throughout our winters ; 
and it is found throughout Europe, as well as in the three 
other quarters of the globe, with little variation. It is 
mentioned as a Ruffian, Swedifh, and Norway, bird: it is 
found in France, Auftria, and Italy; alfo at the Cape of 
Good Hope, and no doubt in the parts between: it is 
alfo an inhabitant of the north part of America, Pennfyl- 
vania, and New York; and fpecimens have been brought 
from Cayenne. It is feen as far north as Shetland, but 
there it difappears before winter. It is faid to do fo in 
the more northern countries, but in all to bear the cold 
to admiration. It feems to frequent oak-trees in pre¬ 
ference to others. Latham has more than once feen a 
brood of thefe in a large oak in the middle of a lawn, the 
whole little family of which, as loon as able, were in 
perpetual motion, and gave great pleafure to many who 
viewed them. The number of young were from fix to 
eight. The neft of one of thefe has alfo been found in a 
garden, on a fir-tree; it was compofed of mol's, the open¬ 
ing on one fide; in lhape roundilh; it was lined with a 
downy fubftance, mixed with fmali filaments. It fings 
melodioufly, but weaker than the common wren. 
M. elata. This variety is even fmaller than the pre¬ 
ceding: and differs in the bill, which is much Ihorter and 
liualler; the yellow is not in the middle of the crown, 
but acrofs the back part of the head, or rather the back 
part of the creft, which is of a jonquil yellow; the upper 
parts of the body greenifli; the head inclined to brown ; 
wings and tail dulky green; acrofs the firft, two pale 
bars ; the fecondaries edged, and the tail, except the two 
middle feathers, tipped with the fame; the fore part of 
the neck pale alti-colour; breaft and belly greenifli; to¬ 
wards the vent, and the fides, pale yellow; legs dulky. 
This inhabits Cayenne, where it only appears in winter, 
and frequents low trees and fhrubs in the favannas. 
Turton has made it a diftindt fpecies. 
207. Motacilla trochilus, the yellow wren : a fize larger 
than the common wren; length four inches and three 
quarters: upper parts pale olive-green; under pale yel¬ 
low, and a ftreak of the laft over the eyes; wings and 
tail brown, edged with yellowilli green; legs yellowilh. 
The female is paler, and inclines to white at the vent; 
but both males and females vary much in colour. This 
little bird is common with us in England, as well as in 
many other parts of Europe, where it chiefly frequents 
the places where willows grow; it is migratory, and comes 
early. It makes the neft in holes at the roots of trees, 
in hollows of dry banks, and l’uch-like places; it is not 
unlike that of the common wren ; formed of mofs, with 
a lining of wool, hair, or feathers. The eggs are dulky 
white, marked with reddifli fpots, and five in number. 
Its note is trifling, which it utters when running up and 
down the branches of trees in learch of infedls, on which 
it feeds; but it is faid that during incubation the male 
has a fong, far from unplealing, and is loft though weak. 
1 3 . M. acredula, the Scotch wren: differs in being ra¬ 
ther inclined to brown than green on the upper parts, 
and yellow on the under. This is found in Jamaica, Ca¬ 
rolina, and other parts of America. Sloane oblerves, 
that at the firft place it feeds on citnices, fmali beetles, 
and fuch-like. Moft plentiful about the town of St. Jago 
de la Vega. 
y. M.fylvicola, the wood-wren: above olive green; throat 
and cheeks yellow ; through the eye a yellow line, belly 
and vent fine filvery 5 tail-feathers brown, and, except 
the firft, green on the outer webs, and white on the inner. 
This is now confidered as a diftindt fpecies, and is given 
as fuch twice over in Dr. Turton’s trapllation of Gmelin's 
1 Linn. 
