THE WREN. 257

places. It is a plain homely looking little bird of a pale
chestnut brown colour. Captain Brown gives the following
interesting description of a wren’s music lesson.

A Wren’s “A pair of wrens,” says Captain Brown, “ built
Music Lesson. their nest in a box, so situated that the family on
the grounds had an opportunity of observing the mother’s care
in instructing her young ones to sing. She seated herself on
one side of the opening of the box, facing her young, and
commenced by singing over all her notes very slowly and
distinctly. One of the little ones then attempted to imitate
her. After chirping rather inharmoniously a few notes, its
pipe failed, and it went off the tune. The mother immedi-
ately took up the tune where the young one had failed, and
distinctly finished the remaining part. The young one made
a second attempt, commencing where it had left off, and con-
tinuing for a few notes with tolerable distinctness, when it again
lost the notes; the mother began again where it ceased, and
went through with the air. The young one again resumed
the tune and completed it. When this was done, the mother
again sung over the whole of her song with great precision;
and then another of the young attempted to follow it, who
likewise was incapable of going through with the tune, but the
parent treated it as she had done the first bird; and so on
with the third and fourth. It sometimes happened that the
little one would lose the tune, even three or four times in
making the attempt; in which case the mother uniformly
commenced where it had ceased, and always sung to the end
of the tune; and when each had completed the trial, she
always sung over the whole song. Sometimes two of them
commenced the strain together, in which case she pursued
the same conduct towards them, as she had done when one
sung. This was repeated at intervals every day, while they
vemained in their nest.”

The The American House Wren is described by
House Wren. Audubon as a cheery familiar little bird, resem-

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