The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #55372   Message #859965
Posted By: GUEST,Arnie
06-Jan-03 - 02:19 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Hunting the Wren
Subject: Origins: Hunting the Wren
I was at a quiz recently and the answer to 'what is the most common garden bird?' was the wren. A few of us disputed this but the quizmaster insisted it was correct. I'm sure he was wrong as the most common bird in my garden is the starling, and I'm sure that applies to most people in the UK - although I have a green woodpecker that visits almost daily over the winter months. Anyway, I digress. There was a pagan(?) tradition of hunting and eating the wren and this has spawned a few folk songs such as Hunting the Wren and the Cutty Wren, so maybe the wren used to be a common bird a few hundred years ago. But, I also recall that someone reckoned that the bird was called a wren but was probably either a robin or a blue tit. Anyone know the truth of this and also, what is the most common bird in your garden?