6o OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS 



crest we may refer the reader to the present writer's 

 works on the subject. 



The GolJcrest has the general colour of the upper 

 parts olive-green, strongly suffused with yellow in 

 the newly-moulted plumage. Along each side of 

 the forehead are two black streaks which enclose 

 the crest of bright orange-yellow. The wings and 

 tail are brown, each quill feather with a greenish 

 margin, and the greater and median wing-coverts 

 are tipped with white, thus forming two conspicuous 

 white bars across the wings. The under parts are 

 nearly uniform greyish-brown. The female closely 

 resembles the male in colour, but the crest is 

 yellower, and the plumage generally less brilliant. 

 The young birds in first plumage have no trace of 

 the yellow cre^^t. The total length of this diminutive 

 species is not more than three and a half inches. 



