The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-27
THE HOUSE WREN.
A Nearly Domesticated Little Bird, Useful
in Orchard and Garden.

! I1E I1OoS6 Vn6INs
A Nearly Domesticated Little Bird. Useful
in Orchard and Garden.
Of all the birds that affect the vi
cinity of our dwellings and enliven our
| grounds, the house wren is one of the
most interesting and the most original
What fussy. Aighty, fidgety little
midget he is! Never at rest for mo-
ment while there is a ray of daylight,
flying. futtering, hopping scolding. it
would seem that his small body must
/ soon be worn out by the fiery
vehemence of his soul And yet he is
| little only in other peoples eyes, for
there is nothing small about him in
his own estimation, and he can occupy
| more space than any other bird OF
! twice his size. His feathered neigh
bors soon find out how much room he
wants, and he usually inspires such re-
| spect as to insure him plenty of it.
| His physical courage is out of all pro.
| portion to the size of his body, and he
fearlessly throws down the gage OF
battle to all corners; indeed, should
that arrant robber and coward. ''other-
/
republic" venture too near the domi-
cile of our minute friend, he would
soon be put to ignominious fight, al
though the combat would be some
what of the ''bull and the bum mble- bee''
style.
In the matter of voice the wren is
not so highly gifted as some other
I,6c hJft hn
self, and insists upon singing all the
time that he is in motion. However,
his song is not unpleasant, and cer-
tainly is cheerful and suggestive of
life and activity.
There is probably no bird that dis
plays greater eccentricity in the selec-
tion Of a nesting site. A hollow tree
or stump, knothole in a post or
branch, OF a woodpecker's last years
tenement, are among the more prosaic
localities of his choice. When more
asthetically inclined he affects old
boots or hats hung up to scare the rob-
ms from the cherries or takes an old
coffee pot or tomato can lying on the
roof of the back shed, or if the gar
dener leaves his jacket on the fence
when the warm weather begins and
happens to forget it for few days, he
may find when he returns for it that
our enterprising hero has pre-empted
one of the pockets and has his domes-
tic affairs under full headway. The
empty skull of dead horse or COW,
when set on the post by a frolicsome
school boy, make an excellent nesting
place for the wren, who is never
troubled by the ghost of the former oc-
cupant. In one case a nest was built
in the hollow timber of a railway
bridge, just under the track, and it's
owners seemed entirely undisturbed by
the dozens of trains that thundered
over their heads every day.
Whatever place the wren may choose
for his home his ambition is to occupy
the whole of it, however large. This
is accomplished by carrying in sticks,
straw and other rubbish until all the
available space is filed, leaving only
just room for the eggs and mother bird.
How great cavity these little work
ers would FIJI if permitted it is hard to
say, but they have often been seen to
undertake some pretty heavy contracts.
On one occasion a pump in daily use
was selected, and for two weeks sticks,
straws, grass and other debris were per-
sistently poured into it, and as.regular-
~ pumped out with the water, much to
the disgust of the family and the wren
also. it is to be presumed.
However curious the nesting habits
of this little creature, the points which
render him interesting to the farmer
and horticulturist are his tastes in the
matter of food. He aspires to large
family, six to brood is his favorite
number, which he likes to repeat twice
or three times during the season.
Now, so many mouths to be flied, of
course requires great activity on the
part of the head of the family, but our
hero is fully equal to the task, and his
offspring never suffer from want,
though they seem to be always hum
CRY. Their favorite diet is the soft
Larvae which are found feeding upon
the plants and trees of the garden.
Among these the geometers or inch
worms appear to form large portion
OF their daily fare. 1t Is said by those
who have watched them that the pa
rent birds Will average to bring to
their young very nearly one worm per
minute during the hours of daylight
No Ella borate calculation is necessary
TO demonstrate how beneficial few
pairs of these birds would be an orchard
or garden. n.-Washington Star.