O beautiful world of green!
When bluebirds carol clear,
And rills outleap,
And new buds peep,
And the soft sky seems more near;
With billowy green and leaves,—what then?
How soon we greet the red again!
G. Cooper, “Round the Year.”
THE WINTER WREN.
(_Troglodytes hiemalis._)
How rich the varied choir! The unquiet finch
Calls from the distant hollows, and the wren
Uttereth her sweet and mellow plaint at times.
—Isaac McLellan, “The Notes of the Birds.”
The Winter Wren inhabits that part of North America east of the Rocky
Mountains, breeding chiefly north of the United States and migrating at
the approach of winter nearly or quite to the Gulf of Mexico.
This diminutive form of bird life, which is also called Bunty Wren and
Little Log Wren, is a denizen of the forest, and it is more common in
those forests found on bottom lands adjacent to rivers. It is a shy
bird, and does not seek the intimacy of man as will its cousin, the
house wren. It is seldom seen far above the ground. In many places where
it does not seem abundant it may be quite common, for it readily eludes
observation in the underbrush because of its neutral color. It frequents
old logs, where it may be seen “hopping nimbly in and out among the
knotholes and other hollow places, then flitting like a brown butterfly
to another place of refuge on the too near approach of an intruder.”
Some one has said, “Its actions are almost as much like that of a mouse
as of a bird, rarely using its wings except for a short flutter from one
bush or stone-heap to another; it creeps slyly and rapidly about,
appearing for an instant and is then suddenly lost to view.”
The Winter Wren builds its nest in the matted roots of an overturned
tree, in brush-heaps, in moss-covered stumps, or on the side of a tree
trunk. It may be attached to a ledge of rock, and is occasionally found
in some unoccupied building, especially if it be a log hut in the woods.
The nest is very large and bulky when compared with the size of the
bird. Dr. Minot describes a nest that he found in a moss-covered stump
in a dark, swampy forest filled with tangled piles of fallen trees and
branches. This nest was made of small twigs and moss. It had a very
narrow entrance on one side, which was covered by an overhanging bit of
moss, which the bird pushed aside on entering. The nests are usually
more or less globular and thickly lined with feathers and hair.
This little brown bird, which carries its tail pertly cocked on high, is
a notable singer. Many have described this song, or perhaps it is better
to say have tried to do so. But words are too inadequate to portray this
sweetest of woodland sounds. Reverend Mr. Langille says: “I stand
entranced and amazed, my very soul vibrating to this gushing melody,
which seems at once expressive of the wildest joy and the tenderest
sadness. Is it the voice of some woodland elf, breaking forth into an
ecstasy of delight, but ending its lyric in melting notes of sorrow?”
Of this song Florence A. Merriam says: “Full of trills, runs, and grace
notes, it was a tinkling, rippling roundelay. It made me think of the
song of the ruby-crowned kinglet, the volume and ringing quality of both
being startling from birds of their size. But while the kinglet’s may be
less hampered by considerations of tune, the Wren’s song has a more
appealing, human character. It is like the bird itself. The dark swamps
are made glad by the joyous, wonderful song.”
[Illustration: WINTER WREN.
(Troglodytes hiemalis.)
About Life-size.
FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.]
And Audubon beautifully expresses the song as it appealed to him: “The
song of the Winter Wren excels that of any other bird of its size with
which I am acquainted. It is truly musical, full of cadence, energetic
and melodious; its very continuance is surprising, and dull indeed must
be the ear that thrills not on hearing it. When emitted, as it often is,
from the dark depths of the unwholesome swamps, it operates so
powerfully on the mind that it by contrast inspires a feeling of wonder
and delight, and on such occasions has impressed me with a sense of the
goodness of the Almighty Creator, who has rendered every spot of earth
in some way subservient to the welfare of His creatures.”