The King of Birds?

Troglodytes troglodytes

"He who shall hurt the little wren 

  Shall never be belov'd by men." - William Blake Auguries of Innocence

At New Year it is said that  the apprentice Druid would go out by himself into the countryside in search of hidden wisdom. If he found a wren he would take that as a sign that he would be blessed with inner knowledge in the coming year. Finding a creature small and elusive to the point of invisibility was a metaphor for finding the elusive divinity within all life. Well we had one on the garden yesterday and I'm still looking for some elusive divinity.

St Stephen's Day (26th December) used to be so called, because it was a custom amoung villagers to stone a wren to death on that day in commemoration of the stoning of Saint Stephen.  It was believed that the wren's song betrayed St. Stephen, hiding from pursuit, to martyrdom. Thus on St. Stephen's Day, December 26, a wren was traditionally killed, and a group of boys would carry it in procession from house to house.

The name Wren means king in most European languages, including Manx.

Has there ever been a bird with richer folklore attached to it?

Time to let it dry for a few days.