452 BRITISH BIRDS. 
d®, Bastard primary much less than half the length of the 
BOCORG 2 Sie ds so epee Tee RS ae gist yO Ae Meee ACCENTOR. 
b. Bill long, equal to or longer than the tarsus. 
c'. Tail graduated, the feathers st.ff and pointed................ CERTHIA. 
d', Tail nearly even. 
e*, Bill slender, the height at the nostrils about one eighth of 
THO AGNR TL. 8.0 Fis spk oon scy le fee's Sein es ee Payee TICHODROMA. 
f?. Bill stout, the height at the nostrils about one fourth of 
TS MeR oie FOSSA, Se AMES i Sad eam etree SiTTa. 
Genus REGULUS. 
Brisson appears to me to have had a better appreciation of the true 
affinities of the Goldcrests when he placed them in the genus Parus than 
Linnzeus or Scopoli, the former of whom included the Goldcrests in his 
extensive genus Motacilla, whilst the latter removed them in company 
with the Warblers into his restricted genus Sylvia. In 1816 Koch 
separated them from the latter group of birds, and in his ‘System der 
baierischeu Zoologie, i. p. 199, established the genus Regulus for their 
reception. Common sense demands that the Goldcrest be accepted as the 
type, because it is the Motacilla regulus of Linneus. 
The yellow or red mark on the crown is a sufficient generic distinction. 
The bill is short, slender, and straight. The nostrils are generally con- 
cealed by a single feather. The wings are rounded, with a small bastard 
primary; and the tail is slightly forked. The scutellz on the tarsus are 
generally obsolete. 
The geographical range of the genus appears to be precisely that of the 
genus Certhia, being the central and southern portions of the Palzartic 
and Nearctic Regions, extending into the extreme north of the Oriental 
and Neotropical Regions. This genus contains four or five species, some 
of them divisible into subspecies or varieties. Two of these species are 
found on the continent of Europe, one of which is a resident in our islands, 
and the other an irregular winter visitor. A third species is a resident in 
the island of Madeira. 
The Golderests feed almost entirely on insects, and resemble the true 
Tits very closely iu their habits. In the mode of construction of their 
nests, and in the colour and shape of their eggs, they approach more nearly 
the shghtly aberrant genera Acredula and githalus. 
