34 THE GOLD-CREST 



brilliancy of colour the gay plumage of tropical birds, is a hardy 

 little fellow, able to bear without shrinking the cold of an English 

 winter, and to keep his position among the branches of high trees 

 in the stormiest weather. Even during a heavy gale I have watched 

 Gold-crests fluttering from branch to branch, and busily hunting 

 for food, though the trees were waving like reeds. They are most 

 numerous in winter, as a considerable number migrata-southwards 

 in October, but a great many remain with us all the year, 

 preferring those districts where there are fir-plantations. Their 

 whole life is spent in the air ; I at least have never observed 

 one on the ground. Their food consists of the insects which infest 

 the leaves and twigs of trees ; and I have seen them capture small 

 moths on the wing. While hunting for food, which appears to 

 be all day long, they are never still, fluttering from branch to branch, 

 hanging in all attitudes, and peering in all directions. From time 

 to time they utter their thin and wiry call-note, which is by some 

 compared to the cry of the Shrew. It might be mistaken for the 

 jarring noise made by two branches which cross one another, or 

 that of a damp finger rubbed lightly along a pane of glass. Early 

 in spring the song commences ; it is composed of about fifteen short 

 notes, rapidly uttered at an exceedingly high pitch, and ending 

 with a yet more rapid cadence. By the call-note or song the vicinity 

 of the bird is far more frequently detected than by its actual 

 appearance ; for the branches of firs in woods are mostly at a 

 considerable height from the ground, and our ' little king ' (saving 

 his majesty) is hard to be distinguished from a fir-cone, except 

 when he is in motion. Gold-crests are eminently social birds ; 

 they generally hunt in parties of half a dozen or more, and do not 

 often change their hunting-ground ; at least I infer as much from 

 the fact that on various occasions I have observed the same bird 

 on the same clump of trees, at intervals extending over several 

 weeks. I could scarcely have been mistaken in the identity of 

 the bird, as it had lost a leg, by what accident I know not ; but the 

 loss did not at all interfere with its activity or spirits. Their 

 sociability extends sometimes to birds of other kinds, as the Creeper 

 and the Tits of several species have been seen hunting in company 

 with them. The habits of these birds being similar, they per- 

 haps associate from a feeling of mutual protection, just as Sparrows, 

 Buntings, and Finches make common cause, when they invade 

 our rick-yards. The Gold-crests are, however, naturally less wary 

 than any of the Tits. These last will at once decamp if disturbed, 

 but Gold-crests will continue their hunting without taking any notice 

 of a spectator. In autumn large flocks sometimes arrive on 

 our east coast extending across England and on into Ireland. In 

 April a return migration takes place. The nest of the Gold-crest is 

 a beautiful structure. Its external form is nearly that of a globe, 

 with a contracted opening at the top. It is composed of moss 



