. Animal life in field and garden . tomtits havetwenty? No more; but to make up for it there are twolayings a year. CHAPTER XXVIII THE WEEN AND THE KINGLET * A NOTHER highly talented architect, past masterxV in the building of nests, is the wren, knownin learned language as the troglodyte. If you askme the meaning of this strange name I shall replythat it is a Greek word signifjdng dweller in inventor of names., more in love with Greek than desirous ofbeing understood,thought he was doing afine thing when he gavethis big name to the lit-tle bird that worms itsway into small holes as
. Animal life in field and garden . tomtits havetwenty? No more; but to make up for it there are twolayings a year. CHAPTER XXVIII THE WEEN AND THE KINGLET * A NOTHER highly talented architect, past masterxV in the building of nests, is the wren, knownin learned language as the troglodyte. If you askme the meaning of this strange name I shall replythat it is a Greek word signifjdng dweller in inventor of names., more in love with Greek than desirous ofbeing understood,thought he was doing afine thing when he gavethis big name to the lit-tle bird that worms itsway into small holes asa mouse would. Per-haps my description willbe more easily under-stood than his hard name. The troglodyte or wrenis a fluffy bunch of plumage resembling that of thewoodcock. With trailing wings, beak to windward,and tail erect over its rump, it is always frisking andhopping about, uttering the while its cheery cry ofteederee, teeree, know that bird, Jules broke in. It isn^t much bigger than a walnut, and every winter it 314. Winter Wren THE WREN AND THE KINGLET 215 comes flying about the house, hunting in the wood-pile and in holes in the walls, and darting into thethickest parts of bushes. From a distance youwould take it for a bold little rat. That is it, that is the wren. In summer it livesin densely grown woods. There, under the archformed by some large upward-curving root coatedwith a thick fleece of moss, it builds a home for it-self in imitation of the pendulines nest. The mate-rials it uses are bits of moss, which make the nestlook like its support. It forms them into a large hol-low ball with a very narrow opening on one side. Itis lined with the wrenbuilds its nest in somechimney or a pile offagots, a thick clumpof ivy or a naturalcavity in the bank ofa shady stream. Thelaying consists ofabout ten white eggsdotted with red at thelarge end. When the weather turns cold, the bird leaves thewoods and approaches our farm-houses. You cansee it
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
