Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-26
THE HOUSE WIRE
One Of TIE Most Interesting Of All the
Small Birds.
sometninG About His Habits. Domestic
Traits and Value In De.troyfsg In
sects That IaJsre the Garden.

sects That Iajare the Garden.
OF all the birds that affect the vicinity OF
our dwellings and enliven our grounds the
house wren is one of the most interesting
and the most original What fussy.
Mighty. hdgety little midget he Is, Never at
rest for a moment while there is a ray %
daylight. Flying, futtering. hopping. scoli-
Ing, IL would seem that his small body must
soon be worn out by the fiery vehemence OF
his soul And yet he is little only On 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 festhered neighbo-s
soon find out how much room he wants.
and he usually inspires such respect rs 10
insure him plenty OF IL. His physical cour-
age Is out OF all proportion 20 the size ~
ms pody, ana he fearlessly throws down rhe
gage OF battle 30 all corners: indeed should
notorious AZ r1 OBJ ana coward: ,,otherwise
venture too near the domicile of our minute
snrlend' ne would soon be put 20 isnominious
what OF the bull and the bumLle-bee''
singing While I'm Motion.
IN The matter of voice the wren il not so
nighV gifted as some other birds. but he
does not suspect IL himself. and insists
upon singing all the time that ne is in rao-
non. However his song is not unpleasant.
ana certainly Is cheerful and suggestive n
life and activity
There Is probably no bird that displays
grea si eecentricity In the selection OF a
nesting site. A hollow tree or stsua a
nhIthole IN post or branch, or wood
peckers last years tenement are among
W. W. more prosaie localities of his ch"Ice
"a nen more aesthetically inclined he fpcts
olo boots or hats hung IN 70 scsre che
o ooSins from the cherries. or takes an old
tSe +. POI or tomato can lying on the roof OF
jacket on the fence when the warm s.-atl,-
81 begins and happens to forget IL for a
II thai a,,r ne .,i may ind when he returns for
one OF the pockets. and has his domestic.
sE,n under fun Roadway. The erupty
post by the frolicsome school bow mates
O. eAeeiient nesting place for the wren. who
mer ooa troubled by the ghost Of the for
a. occupant In one case a nest was hunt
IN the hollow timber OF a railway b,td.sa
yus. under the track, and it's owners seero.t
thai tbu naaasturoed by the dozens OF trains
Neuoered over their heads every ,lay
r MS Choice of n House
"hste'er place the wren NAV cho.se for
ms hohe' MS ambition rs TO OCCUPY the
"hose or II. however large This Is s.
comphshed by carrying in sticks s,raws
anu other rubbish until an the aVat,ahl.
space is nued. leaving only just room for
esyitv ano mother bird. How great a
1870, uese httfe workers would fIl N
permitted IL is hard 10 say, but the, haxs
peen been seen TO undertake some preftv
contracts. On one occasion 4 numn
IA daiiy use was selected. and for two s,seLrs
SUCKS. straws. grass and other debris acre
pv ,s,s,Shtiy poured into II and as regula rly
Pumped out with the water much Ia fhe
disgust OF the family and The prra,, 80
IL Is TO be presumed 'e'
about Washington and other cities ana
.o~ns our little friend has often L. con-
tend Tor nesting place with that d,sre,-
.hie tramp. the English sparrow and in
os 81 eon.esIs usually sustains the credit
eIgn invader; still he disikes the nociefv
OF tnese base-born pleteisns feeling him
ser 10 De quite one of the ornithic -four
hundred" and after one or two saas,,s ~
resioence IN such company. lust 10 show
MS superiority. he usually withdravs and
snad ,eompanionship more suited to his re-
To see him at his best one Shouts visit
nlm AZ his home when the eggs are laid
ana Mrs Wren is engaged I'm her maternal
duties He will meet you as YOU approach
ana INFORM you In most unmistakahle Ian
gnage that your place is better than your
presence. ana IL You persist I'm going too
near the nest he viii GENE walking Down a
oranch near your head. with wings droop-
his s ssaa 'aa, boin ,1 over ais back toward
rent of tnvective that YOU NAV THANK your
| stars that he does not speak English or
else would you sink into the very earth
In the Matter Of Food.
however curious the nesting hablts OF
this little creature the points which render
him Interesting to the farmer and hortf-
cplturfst are his tastes In the matter OF
food. He aspires TO a large family, six to
a brood Is his favorite number. which ne
likes TO repeat twice or three times during
the season Now. so many mouths TO be
nlled or course, requires great activity on
the part of the head Of the family bat our
hero is fully equal to the task and his or
spring never suffer from want, though
| they seem TO be always hungry. Their fav-
orfte diet is the soft larvae which are found
feeding upon the plants and trees u the
garden. Among these the geometefs or
inch worms appear TO form a large por-
tion OF their daily fare 1t Is said BY those
who have watched them that the parent
birds Will average to bring to their Young
very nearly one larvae Der minute during
the hours of daylight. No elaborate ealcu-
lation is necessary TO demonstrate how
beneficial a few pairs Of these birds would
be in an orchard garden. and Their in
teresting habits do not interfere with their
usefulness. Therefore. let encourase the
wren. He will not object 10 a pretty little
house to live In and will be grateful for
one OF the plainest style. and TO quote the
| words Of a Scottish friend. will paw re
| sax months rent In advance. gin we'll TAX
your pay In chatterin'." His worst ener1y
/ is the cat, who has a decided taste for
young wrens Let the little home be placed
SO that the cat cannot get at il and vi the
sparrovs modest him shoot them. and per
haps IL might be well to add. shoot them
anyway.