A wren built her nest in a box, so placed that a family had a chance to watch the mother bird teaching her young ones the art of singing peculiar to wrens. She fixed herself on one side of the opening in the box, directly before the young birds, and began singing over her whole song very distinctly. One of the little birds then tried to imitate her. After singing through a few notes, its voice broke and it lost the tune. The mother at once began again where the young one had failed, and went very distinctly through the rest of the song. The young bird made a second attempt, beginning where it had stopped before, and kept up the song as long as it was able. If the note was lost again, the mother began anew where it stopped, and finished it. Then the little one resumed the song and finished it.

This done, the mother sang over the whole series of notes a second time with great care, and a second of the young ones tried to follow her. The wren followed the same course with this one as with the first; and so on with the third and all the rest. It sometimes happened that the young bird would lose the tune three or four or more times in the same attempt, and the mother would always begin where they stopped and sing the rest of the song; and when each little bird had sung the whole song through, she repeated the whole strain. Sometimes two of the young birds began together. The mother did just the same as when one sang alone. This practise was repeated day after day, and several times a day.