THE WREN'S REQUIEM

 

THE WREN'S REQUIEM -A TRUE STORY

IT was on a morning early in the spring, a few years ago, that we heard an unusual twittering outside our bedroom window, above which is a deep thatch; on looking up we saw two curious festoons hanging from it, apparently in motion. It was, in fact, two half-circles composed of little wrens. clinging to each other by foot and wing, to the number of  twenty or thirty. They clung together thus for the space of about two minutes, it might be more or less; as we did not mark the time by a watch, I could not with certainty say how long. They twittered mourn fully all the while, so different from their usual joyous song; then suddenly, as if by one consent, they in a moment broke loose and flew away. On descending, shortly afterwards, we found a dead wren lying just under the window, over which these festoons of wrens had been hanging a few minutes before. It looked as if these affectionate little creatures had been singing a dirge over their dead friend below; at least we could think of no other cause for the unusual appearance. From that time the wrens deserted that spot for more than two years. On speaking of this to one who had made natural history his study, he told me that it was called the 'Wren's Requiem' and was an established fact, though very rarely seen.
 Chambers Journal 

References:

Chatterbox 1877