460 BRITISH BIRDS. 
which you hear the harsh cawee cawee of the Barbary Partridge as it 
nestles amongst the stones and scrub. Ever and anon the soft note of the ~ 
Hoopoe, or the cry of Levaillant’s Woodpecker, or of the Algerian Jay falls 
upon the ear; whilst in the bushes near at hand may be seen the charming 
little Moussier’s Buschat, the Algerian Chaffinch, and, more rarely, a 
gorgeous Roller. The trees are full of life. Here, in close company with 
the rare Algerian Coal Tit, the Firecrest is very common. It is seen in 
the tall cedar trees, and is restless and busy amongst the branches fifty 
feet above, exploring all the twigs in search of its favourite food. The 
Firecrest is also almost as common in the evergreen-oak forests, searching 
the lower branches all amongst the lichens and tree-moss for insects; and 
every now and then its brilliant crest glistens conspicuously in the sunlight. _ 
Its note sounds shriller to me than a Goldcrest’s ; but I think it was quite 
as familiar and trustful as that other little favourite bird of mine. In its 
motions it puts you in mind of the Willow-Wrens; and when, as I have 
sometimes seen it, hanging with one leg from a drooping bough, picking 
out the imsects from a bud, it looks precisely like a Tit. Although we 
were in these forests in May, the birds did not seem to have begun to 
breed.” | 
The nest of the Firecrest does not differ from that of the Golderest. As 
in that species, it is suspended under the drooping branches of a fir tree, 
usually near the extremity of the branch, amongst the twigs of which it is 
artfully concealed, these twigs being also interwoven with the sides of the 
nest. It is made chiefly of the greenest moss, felted together with spider’s 
webs and studded with lichens. Inside it is lined with a profusion of 
feathers. When placed amongst branches thickly clothed with lichens and 
tree-moss, this material almost entirely forms the outside of the nest ; for, 
like the Chaffinch and the Long-tailed Tit, the Firecrest imitates most 
closely the surroundings of its home, and in this fact doubtless its safety 
rests. The eggs of the Firecrest are as numerous as those of the Goldcrest, 
and are usually nine or ten in number, sometimes less, and, in rare in- 
stances, more. They may always be distinguished from the eggs of the 
Goldcrest by their much redder tinge. They are reddish white in ground- 
colour, richly marbled and speckled over the entire surface with brownish 
red. Some specimens are only so richly coloured on the larger end of the 
egg; but usually the whole surface is covered. On some specimens a few 
minute streaks of brown are found. They measure from °56 to ‘5 inch in 
length and from ‘45 to ‘4 inch in breadth. It is not known that the 
Firecrest has ever bred in the British Islands. 
The food of the Firecrest is similar to that of the Goldcrest—small 
insects, little seeds, and probably berries, as in the allied species. The 
Firecrest, it would appear, performs its annual migrations in company with 
its close congener the Goldcrest to a large extent ; and the specimens that 
