The EMU WREN (_Stipiturus malachurus_), one of the most remarkable birds
found in Australia, is distinguished by the very unusual formation of
the web of the six feathers that compose the tail, a peculiarity most
observable in the male. The upper part of the body is brown, striped with
black; the top of the head rust-red; the chin and throat pale blueish
grey; the rest of the under side is bright red, the quills are dark brown
edged with reddish brown, and the tail-feathers dark brown; the eye is
reddish brown, and the beak and feet brown. In the female the top of the
head is streaked with black, and the region of the throat red instead of
blue.
The genus _Stipiturus_, according to Mr. Gould, is a form entirely
confined to Australia. These birds frequent extensive grass-beds,
particularly those which occur in humid situations. They run quickly over
the ground, and carry the tail erect, like the _Maluri_. Some slight
variation occurs in specimens from Tasmania and Southern and Western
Australia, but, probably, they are all referable to one species.
"The delicate little Emu Wren," says Dr. Bennett, "although formerly seen
in great numbers in the vicinity of Sydney, is now very rare. It was
also named the Cassowary Bird by the early colonists, from the peculiar
feathers in the tail, and was first described in 1798, in the _Linnæan
Transactions_. It is an active little creature, running rapidly among
the grass, and, from the shortness of its wings, appears ill adapted for
flight. Some years since it congregated in great numbers in the Sydney
Domain, near the Botanic Garden, but for some time not one has been seen
in that locality. This bird rarely perches on a bush at an elevation of
more than three or four feet from the ground; it is usually observed
darting quickly over the long grass, and, by its activity, readily eludes
pursuit."
"This curious little bird," says Mr. Gould, "has a wide distribution,
since it inhabits the whole of the southern portion of Australia, from
Moreton Bay on the east to Swan River on the west, including Tasmania.
Among the places where it is most numerous in the latter country are the
swampy grounds in the neighbourhood of Recherche Bay in D'Entrecasteaux
Channel, the meadows at New Norfolk, Circular Head, and Flinder's Island
in Bass Straits. On the continent of Australia, Botany Bay and, indeed,
all portions of the country having a similar character are favoured with
its presence.
"The Emu Wren is especially fond of low, marshy districts, covered with
rank high grasses and rushes, where it conceals itself from view by
keeping near the ground, and in the midst of the more dense parts of the
grass-beds. Its extremely short round wings ill adapt it for flight,
and this power is consequently seldom employed, the bird depending for
progression upon its extraordinary capacity for running; in fact, when
the grasses are wet from dew or rain, its wings are rendered perfectly
unavailable. On the ground it is altogether as nimble and active; its
creeping, mouse-like motions, and the extreme facility with which it
turns and bounds over the surface, enabling it easily to elude pursuit,
and amply compensating for the paucity of its powers of flight. The tail
is carried in an erect position, and is even occasionally retroverted
over the back.
"The nest, which is a small ball-shaped structure, with rather a large
opening on one side, is composed of grasses lined with feathers, and
artfully concealed in a tuft of grass or low shrub. One that I found
in Recherche Bay contained three newly-hatched young; this being the
only nest I ever met with, I am unable to give any description of its
eggs from my own observation; but the want is supplied by the following
account of this species from the pen of Mr. E. P. Ramsay, published in
the _Ibis_ for 1865:--
"'I had for many days visited the swamps on Long Island, where these
birds are very plentiful, in the hope of finding them breeding, but it
was not till the 25th of September that I succeeded in discovering a
nest, although I had watched them for hours together for several days.
While walking along the edge of the swamp on that day a female flew from
my feet out of an overhanging tuft of grass, growing only a few yards
from the water's edge. Upon lifting up the leaves of the grass which had
been beaten down by the wind, I found its nest carefully concealed near
the roots, and containing three eggs. They were quite warm, and within a
few days of being hatched, which may account for the bird being unwilling
to leave the spot; for, upon my returning about five minutes afterwards,
the female was perched upon the same tuft of grass, and within a few
inches of whence I had taken the nest. The nest was of an oval form (but
that part which might be termed the true nest was perfectly round),
placed upon its side; the mouth very large, taking up the whole of the
under part of the front. It was very shallow, so much so that if tilted
slightly the eggs would roll out, being almost on a level with the edge.
It was outwardly composed of grass, and the young dry shoots of the reeds
which are so common in all the swamps near the Hunter River, lined with
fine grass, roots, and, finally, a very fine green moss. It was very
loosely put together, and required to be moved very gently to prevent its
falling to pieces.
"'The eggs are six lines and a half long by four and a half broad,
they are sprinkled all over with minute dots of a light reddish brown,
particularly at the larger end, where they are blotched with the same
colour. One of the three had no blotches, but was minutely freckled all
over. The ground-colour is a delicate white, with a blush of pink before
the egg is blown.
[Illustration: THE EMU WREN (_Stipiturus malachurus_).]
"'The only note of the bird, besides a slight chirp when flushed and
separated, is a twitter, not unlike a faint attempt to imitate the
_Malurus cyaneus_. While in the swamp, which at that time was nearly dry,
I observed several separate flocks; of these some were hopping along the
ground, picking up something here and there, others, whose appetites
seemed appeased, were creeping along through the reeds, about a foot from
the ground, but as the reeds thickened I soon lost sight of them. They
seldom took wing except when disturbed, and not always then, seeming very
averse to showing themselves. While watching them, I observed one now and
then hop to the top of a tall reed, as if to get a glimpse at the world
above. Upon coming suddenly upon a flock and following them, they keep to
the reeds just in front of you, and never take wing unless hard driven,
when they separate, and do not collect for some time.
"'The male is readily distinguished from the female by the blue
colouring of the throat, and by a somewhat greater development of the
tail-feathers. The decomposed or loose structure of these feathers, much
resembling those of the Emu, has suggested the colonial name of the Emu
Wren for this species, an appellation singularly appropriate, inasmuch as
it at once indicates the kind of plumage with which the bird is clothed,
and the Wren-like nature of its habits.'"
* * * * *
The WRENS (_Troglodytæ_) are small, compactly-built birds, with
short wings and tails. Their beak is small, or of medium size, thin,
awl-shaped, compressed at its sides, and slightly curved at its culmen;
the feet are weak, short-toed, and the tarsi of moderate height; the
wings, in which the fourth or fifth quill is the longest, are short,
rounded, and much arched; the tail very short, conical, or slightly
rounded. The plumage is usually reddish brown, marked with black. These
little birds are to be met with all over the world, but are especially
numerous in Europe, Asia, and America; everywhere they frequent the
vicinity of trees or bushes, in whatever situation these are to be found,
but most commonly prefer well-watered and cultivated districts. All the
various species are restless, lively, and active; upon the ground, they
hop with the utmost activity, and display a rapidity in creeping through
the most tangled brushwood that is almost unrivalled. All are endowed
with agreeable voices, and some American species sing very sweetly. The
nests are generally of an oval shape, roofed above and furnished with a
small entrance at the side; the materials employed vary considerably,
according to the situations in which the nests are constructed, the
places selected for building being sometimes curiously chosen. A Wren, as
we are told by the Rev. J. G. Wood, made its nest in the body of a dead
Hawk that was nailed to the side of a barn, and another in the interior
of a pump, gaining access through the spout. As these birds testify
little fear of man in South America, they are frequently provided with
convenient receptacles for their nests, in order to induce them to build
upon the roofs of the houses.
[Illustration: THE COMMON WREN (_Troglodytes parvulus_).]