More about Wrens

Thanks to kind Melody Elwell Romancito I now know how to paste into my blog. 

In 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. The Wren's majesty is recognized in such stories as the Grimm Brothers' The Willow-Wren and the Bear. Aristotle^[10] and Plutarch called the Wren basileus (king) and basiliskos (little king). In Japan the Wren is also called King of the Winds.

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, known as "Jenny Wren" in nursery rhymes. A Wren's feather was thought to be a charm against disaster or drowning.

The Wren also features in the legend of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who supposedly was betrayed by the noisy bird as he attempted to hide from his enemies. Traditionally, St. Stephen's Day (26 December) has been commemorated by Hunting the Wren, wherein young Wrenboys would catch the bird and then ritually parade it around town, as described in the traditional Wren Song. The Wren, the Wren, the king of all birds, St. Stephen’s day was caught in the furze. Although he is little, his family’s great, I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat.^[11] The tradition, and the significance of the Wren as a symbol and sacrifice of the old year, is discussed in Sir James Frazer's The Golden Bough.^[12]

According to Suetonius, the assassination of Julius Caesar was foretold by an unfortunate wren. On the day before the Ides of March, a wren was seen being pursued in a frenzy by various other birds. With a conspicuous sprig of laurel clamped in its beak, the wren flew desperately into the Roman Senate, but there its pursuers overtook it and tore it to pieces.^[13]