"The nest of the Carolina Wren," says Audubon, "is usually placed in a hole of some low, decayed tree, or in a fence stake, sometimes even in the stable, barn, or coach-house, should it there find a place suitable for its reception. I have found some not more than two feet from the ground in the stump of a tree that had long before been felled by the axe. The materials employed in its construction are hay, grasses, leaves, feathers, and horsehair, or the dry fibres of the Spanish moss; the feathers, hair, or moss, form the lining, the coarse materials the outer parts. When the hole is sufficiently large, the nest is not unfrequently five or six inches in depth, although only just wide enough to admit one of the birds at a time. The number of eggs is from five to eight. They are of a broad oval form, greyish white, sprinkled with reddish brown. Whilst at Oakley, the residence of my friend James Perrie, Esq., near Bagon, Jura, I discovered that one of these birds was in the habit of roosting in a Wood Thrush's nest, that was placed on a low horizontal branch, and had been filled with leaves that had fallen during the autumn. It was in the habit of thrusting its body beneath the leaves, and, I doubt not, found the place very comfortable. They usually raise two, sometimes three broods in a season. The young soon come out from the nest, and, in a few days after, creep and hop about with as much nimbleness as the old ones. Their plumage undergoes no change, merely becoming firmer in the colouring."
THE HOUSE WREN.
The HOUSE WREN (Thryothorus platensis), a South American species, is brown on the upper portion of the body, shading into red towards the rump. The quills and tail-feathers are finely striped with blackish brown, the former edged with a paler shade on the inner web; a pale streak passes over the eye; the throat is white; the region of the cheek striped with brown; the throat, breast, and belly are pale reddish yellow, the sides of the breast being deepest in tint, and faintly streaked. The eye is deep brown; the beak dark grey, whitish at its base; the foot reddish brown. The length of the body is four inches and six lines, the breadth six inches; the wing measures one inch and ten lines, and the tail an inch and a half. "This agreeable singing bird," says the Prince von Wied, "may be regarded as replacing our Common House Sparrow about the Brazilian houses. In appearance and habits it closely resembles the Common Wren, and is constantly to be seen hopping nimbly about the gardens and over the roofs and fences, or creeping with astonishing quickness through tiny holes or compact hedges. Its loud, sweet-toned voice is very similar to that of the True Warblers. The nests, which are small and carelessly constructed, are generally built upon the house-tops, or in holes of walls; those we saw were open above and very shallow, formed externally of stalks and grass, thickly lined with feathers. The eggs, four in number, were rose-pink, marked with deep red."
THE FLUTE-PLAYER
The FLUTE-PLAYER (Cyphorhinus cantans), a very noted species of Wren inhabiting South America, represents a group distinguished by the following characteristics:—The beak is strong, compressed at its sides; the nostrils small, round, quite open, and surrounded by a skin, whereas in other members of the family they are furnished with a covering; the wings are short and much rounded; the tail of moderate size, and graduated at its sides; the legs are strong, and the moderate-sized toes armed with very disproportionately powerful claws. The upper part of the plumage is reddish brown, lightest upon the brow and top of the head. The mantle-feathers are marked with blackish brown; the chin, throat, and front of the neck are light rust-red; the sides of the throat, cheeks, and region of the ear black, with white shafts to the feathers; the belly and centre of the breast are whitish yellow, the sides pale greenish brown, with dark markings. The length of this species is five inches, the wing measures two inches and one-sixth, and the tail one inch and one-third.
The Flute-player, as this bird is called by the Peruvians, on account of its strange and very beautiful voice, frequents the inmost recesses of the South American forests, where it lives in parties, and seeks for insects and berries either upon the ground or on such branches as are not more than two feet above its surface. During the middle of the day, according to Schomburghk, its song is rarely or never heard.
The PIPITS (Anthi) form, as it were, a connecting link between the Warblers and Larks, and until lately were classed among the latter birds. Their body is slender; their wings, in which the third and fourth quills are the longest, are of moderate size; the upper wing-covers often of great length; the tail of medium size; the tarsus slender; the toes weak; and the claws very large, the hindermost, like that of the Lark, being prolonged into a spur. The beak is thin, straight, narrow at its base, and awl-shaped, its margins turn inwards, and are incised at the slightly-curved tip of the upper mandible; the smooth, glossy plumage is of a brownish or greenish hue. The young usually resemble their parents. The family of Pipits comprises a great number of species distributed over all parts of the world, some occupying mountain tracts, and others forests, plains, or marshy districts. All live principally on the ground, and sometimes, but rarely, they perch on the branches of trees. Their manner of progressing on terra firma is rather by a rapid running step than by a series of leaps, and is accompanied by considerable agitation of the whole body, and constant gentle whisking of the tail. The flight of the Pipits is rapid, light, and undulatory, when they are desirous of going to any considerable distance, but changes to a hovering and fluttering motion when they rise into the air previous to singing. They are very intelligent, and their song, though simple, is agreeable; the call is a kind of piping sound, whence the name of Pipits, by which they are distinguished. Their principal food consists of beetles, moths, flies, snails, and aphides; some species also devour spiders and worms, and, according to recent observations, various kinds of seeds; all seek their food on the ground, and rarely seize their prey in the air, or by darting from the branches of trees or bushes. The nest is loosely formed of blades of grass, portions of plants and roots, lined with wool or hair, and is constructed on the ground. The eggs are of a dusky hue, and faintly marked with spots and streaks. The female alone broods, but both parents assist in tending the young. Most species lay more than once in the year.
THE MEADOW PIPIT, OR MEADOW TITLING.
The MEADOW PIPIT, or MEADOW TITLING (Anthus pratensis), is of a greenish brown, spotted with brownish black on the upper portion of the body; the breast is light rust-red, spotted with dark brown; the throat and belly are whitish, and a yellowish white streak passes over the eyes; the quills are brownish black, with light edges, and the feathers of the wing-covers bordered with dull green; the tail-feathers are brownish black, edged with olive-green, those at the exterior decorated with a large white spot at the tip. The eye is dark brown, the beak grey, and the foot reddish grey. This species is six inches long, and nine and a half broad; the wing measures two inches and five-sixths, and the tail two inches and a quarter. The female is a trifle smaller than her mate.