GOLDCREST. 95 



Fpmily PARID.^. Genus Ri-r.uLUS. 



Sub-family REGULINAl. 



GOLDCREST. 



Regulus cristatus, Koch. 

 Single Brooded. Laying season, April and May. 



British breeding area : The Goldcrest is generally 

 and widely distributed throughout the British Islands, 

 becoming, of course, the least common in districts where 

 trees are scarce, and therefore not known to breed in 

 the Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys, and the Shctlands. 

 The range of this species is slowly yet steadily increas- 

 ing in Scotland, owing to the formation of larch and fir 

 plantations. 



Breeding habits : The principal breeding-haunts of 

 the Goldcrest are shrubberies and plantations, especially 

 such that contain fir, larch, or yew trees. It is note- 

 worthy what a small plantation will content several pairs 

 of birds, sometimes a mere bunch of Scotch firs or 

 larches containing several nests. It is probable that the 

 Goldcrest pairs for life, although a new nest appears to 

 be made each year. This nest is a charming piece of 

 handiwork, usually made at the extremity of a branch, 

 nearly globular in form, and slung hammock-wise from 

 the twigs. The foliage surrounding it is interwoven 

 with the materials, so that the whole appears nothing 

 but a more than usually dense tuft of vegetation. 

 Nests of this species have been found on the top of flat 

 branches, but this must be very exceptional, as are also 

 nests made in bushes. The nest is composed of moss, 

 spiders' webs, hairs, and a few lichens well felted 

 together, and lined with a warm bed of feathers. The 

 Goldcrest is shy and retiring duiing the nesting season, 



