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The wrens are mostly small, brownish passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. About 80 species of true wrens in roughly 20 genera are described. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where in Anglophone regions, it is commonly known simply as the "wren", as it is the originator of the name. The name wren has been applied to other, unrelated birds, particularly the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and the Australian wrens (Maluridae). Most wrens are small and rather inconspicuous, except for their loud and often complex songs. Notable exceptions are the relatively large members of the genus ''Campylorhynchus'', which can be quite bold in their behavior. Wrens have short wings that are barred in most species, and they often hold their tails upright. As far as known, wrens are primarily insectivorous, eating insects, spiders, and other small arthropods, but many species also eat vegetable matter and some take small frogs and lizards.〔 ==Name and use of the term wren== The English name "wren" derives from Middle English ''wrenne'', Old English ''wrænna'', attested (as ''werna'') very early, in an eighth-century gloss. It is cognate to Old High German ''wrendo'', ''wrendilo'', and Icelandic ''rindill'' (the latter two including an additional diminutive ''-ilan'' suffix). The Icelandic name is attested in Old Icelandic (Eddaic) ''rindilþvari''. This points to a Common Germanic name '' *wrandjan-'', but the further etymology of the name is unknown.〔Kluge-Lutz, ''English Etymology'' tentatively suggest association with Old High German ''(w)renno'' "stallion", but Suolahti (1909) rejects this as unlikely.〕 The wren is also known as ''kuningilin'' "kinglet" in Old High German, a name associated with the fable of the election of the "king of birds". The bird that could fly to the highest altitude would be made king. The eagle outflew all other birds, but he was beaten by a small bird that had hidden in his plumage. This fable is already known to Aristotle (''Historia Animalium'' 9.11)〔"It goes by the nickname of 'old man' or 'king'; and the story goes that for this reason the eagle is at war with him." http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=AriHian.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=9&division=div2〕 and Pliny (''Naturalis Historia'' 10.74 ),〔"The roiall Ægle hateth the Wren, and why? because (if we may beleeve it) he is named Regulus, (the petie-king. )" http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny10.html〕 and was taken up by medieval authors such as Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, but it concerns ''Regulus'', and is apparently motivated by the yellow "crown" sported by these birds (a point noted already by Ludwig Uhland).〔Suolahti, Viktor Hugo, ''Die deutschen Vogelnamen : eine wortgeschichtliche Untersuchung'', Straßburg (1909), 80-85.〕 In modern German, the name is ''Zaunkönig'', king of the fence (or hedge). In Dutch, the name is ''winterkoninkje'' (little winter king). The family name Troglodytidae is derived from troglodyte, which means "cave-dweller", and the wrens get their scientific name from the tendency of some species to forage in dark crevices. The name "wren" is also ascribed to other families of passerine birds throughout the world. In Europe, species of ''Regulus'' are commonly known as "wrens", the common firecrest and goldcrest as "fire-crested wren" and "golden-crested wren", respectively. The 27 Australasian "wren" species in the family Maluridae are unrelated, as are the New Zealand wrens in the family Acanthisittidae, the antwrens in the family Thamnophilidae, and the wren-babblers of the family Timaliidae. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wren」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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