The immense number of insects which this sociable little bird removes from the garden and fruit trees ought to endear him to every cultivator; and his notes, loud, sprightly and tremulous, are extremely agreeable. Its food is insects and caterpillars, and while supplying the wants of its young it destroys, on an average, many hundreds a day. It is a bold and insolent bird against those that venture to build within its jurisdiction; attacking them without hesitation, though twice its size, and compelling them to decamp. Even the blue bird, when attacked by this little impertinent, soon relinquishes the contest: with those of his own species, also, he has frequent squabbles. The varieties of the wren are very numerous. The _Blue Bird_, is a familiar favorite throughout the continent. It is migratory, and his return is hailed in the northern states as the first presage of spring. ‘Towards autumn,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘in the month of October, his cheerful song nearly ceases, and is now changed into a single plaintive note. Even when the leaves have fallen, and the forest no longer affords a shelter from the blast, the faithful blue bird still lingers over his native fields, and only takes his departure in November, when, at a considerable elevation, in the early twilight of the morning, till the opening of the day, they wing their way in small roving troops to some milder regions in the south.’ _Tanagers._――The _Tanagers_ are gaudy birds, which annually visit the republic from the torrid regions of the south. The _Scarlet Tanager_ is perhaps the most showy. He spreads himself over the United States, and is found even in Canada. He rarely approaches the habitations of man, unless perhaps in the orchard, where he sometimes builds; or in the cherry trees in search of fruit; the depth of the wood is his favorite abode. Among all the birds that inhabit our woods, there is none that strikes the eye of a stranger, or even a native, with so much brilliancy as this. Seen among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly on his plumage, he is really beautiful. Another species, the summer red bird, delights in a flat sandy country, covered with wood, and interspersed with pine trees; and is, consequently, more numerous towards the shores of the Atlantic than in the interior. Illustration: Tanager.