Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/759

 WREN ways " (1864) ; Mercedes," a tale of the Mex- ican war (1865) ; and many other works and translations. WREN, the name commonly applied to the diminutive tenuirostral birds of the creeper family and genus troglodytes (Vieill.); they come near the dentirostral birds, and by some have been placed by the side of the golden- crested warbler or kinglet (regulus cristatus Kay), also itself called wren. In the wrens the tarsi are long and slender ; the toes long the outer longer than the inner, the latter be- ing free ; bill slightly curved, with tip entire ' wings short and rounded, the fourth to sixth quills equal and longest; tail short, rounded and usually erect. There are about 50 species in various parts of the globe, of which one of the best known is the common European or kitty wren (T. parvulus, Koch). It is 4 in. long, reddish brown above, barred with dusky and white spots on the wings, and yellowish white below. It is very lively, frequenting gardens and hedges, and flitting from bush to bush with a direct flight, in search of insects, seeds, and fruits ; the males in spring and sum- 735 sels; the eggs are 5 to 8, broad oval, eravish white with reddish brown spots; two o? three broods are reared in a seaaon.-The best known House Wren (Troglodytes sedon). Kitty Wren (Troglodytes parvulus). mer have a loud sweet song. The nests are begun early in April, in holes and crevices of walls, banks, and roofs of thatch, among climb- ing plants or on branches of trees, and are composed principally of hay and moss, lined with feathers; they are comparatively large, oval, domed above, with the opening at the end or on the side ; the eggs are 6 to 10, and even 16, and incubation lasts 10 days, the males feeding the females, and both very attentive to the young ; two broods are raised in a season. It is a permanent resident all over Europe, most abundant in the north. Of the North American true wrens, the largest is the great Carolina (thryothorus Ludovicianus, Bonap.), 6 in. long and 8J in. in alar extent ; it is red- dish brown above, brightest on the rump, the wings and tail barred with darker ; throat and streak over eyes "whitish; lower parts pale yellowish rusty with under tail coverts barred with black. It is found as far north as Penn- sylvania, west to Missouri, and south to Texas ; it is very lively, and fond of the vicinity of wa- ter. Many are destroyed by minks and wea- 843 VOL. xvi. 47 species is the house wren (troglodytes adon, Vieill.), 5 by 6 in. ; it is reddish brown above, barred with dusky, and pale fulvous white be- low with a light brownish tinge across the breast. It is found in the eastern United States to Missouri ; it is much more familiar than the European wren, and a far superior songster ; it builds near nouses, in boxes pre- pared for it, and sometimes in strange places, as in unused carriages, or the sleeve of a coat forgotten in an outhouse ; the males are very pugnacious, and have a special antipathy to cats, the martin, bluebird, and swallows; the eggs are five or six, pale reddish, and two broods are raised in a season. There are several other allied genera in western South America, Asia, and Africa. The lyre bird be- longs to the group of wrens. (See LTEE BIBD.) WREN, Sir Christopher, an English architect, born at East Knoyle, Wiltshire, Oct. 20, 1632, died at Hampton Court, Feb. 25, 1723. His father was chaplain in ordinary to Charles I. and dean of Windsor. He graduated at Ox- ford in 1650, received the degree of M. A. in 1653, and became a fellow of All Souls' college. He had already made many inven- tions, including the wheel barometer and mez- zotint engraving (according to his son), and had written papers on astronomy, on instru- ments of scientific application, on ship build- ing, fortification, harbors, whale fishing, the easiest method of finding the longitude, and many other topics. He now became the asso- ciate of a body of scientific men whose meet- ings laid the foundation of the royal society. In 1657 he was elected professor of astronomy in Gresham college, London, and three years later Savilian professor of astronomy at Ox- ford. ' In 1661 he was appointed assistant to Sir John Denham, the surveyor general. In 1663 he designed the chapel of Pembroke col- lege, Cambridge, and in the same year was commissioned to make a survey of St. Paul's