jenny wren

The cat brought a juvenile wren in yesterday. Luckily I could free it and get it to fly out of the patio doors..... It suddenly occurred to me that they are called jenny Wren in England :~))

In the European folklore, the Wren is the King of the Birds. According a fable of Aesop, long ago the birds held a contest to see who could fly the highest; this one should become the King of the Birds. At first it looked as though the Eagle would win easily. But just as the Eagle began to tire, the Wren, which had hidden under the Eagle's tail feathers, crept out, soared far above and shouted: "I'm the King!" Thus the Wren proved that cleverness is better than strength.

And in Dutch it is indeed called the WinterKoning (king of winter)

Its incredibly loud song can be heard  HERE
Nice American video (with sound) HERE
Its also a song by Paul McCartney (they killed the wrong Beatle IMO !)

It was a sacred bird to the Druids, who considered it "supreme among all the birds", and used its musical notes for divination.

The shape-shifting Fairy Queen took the form of a Wren.

The term Jenny Wren is to do with nursery rhymes.

There are several versions on-line, but I like this one best :~)

Twas once upon a time, when Jenny Wren was young,
So daintily she danced and so prettily she sung,
Robin Redbreast lost his heart, for he was a gallant bird.
So he doffed his hat to Jenny Wren, requesting to be heard.

"Oh, dearest Jenny Wren, if you will but be mine,
You shall feed on cherry pie and drink new currant wine,
I'll dress you like a goldfinch or any peacock gay,
So, dearest Jen, if you'll be mine, let us appoint the day."

Jenny blushed behind her fan and thus declared her mind:
"Since, dearest Bob, I love you well, I'll take your offer kind.
Cherry pie is very nice and so is currant wine,
But I must wear my plain brown gown and never go too fine."