18 HIGHWAYS AKD BYWAYS. 



feet touched the hat it startled him, and with a quick 

 chirp he flew to another tree. I could not again coax 

 him within reach, although he watched me curiously for 

 some time. 



Most of them pass the winter months in the south- 

 ern forests, and the summer in the northern woods 

 away from the haunts of men ; though some of them 

 pass the summer in Central and Western New York. 

 Ornithologists do not credit them with breeding as far 

 south as this, but I have little doubt that they nest in 

 the woods at Portage, Idlewood and Angola, as I have 

 found them here in pairs, and in full song, from April 

 till the middle of July. The golden -crowned wren is 

 olive green above, darker between the wings ; the outer 

 webs of the wings and tail feathers are bright green ; 

 the under parts of the body a grayish white ; the wings 

 marked with black, with two white bars across them. 

 There is a patch of bright orange on the crown, mar- 

 gined with yellow and black. This bright crown spot 

 the bird can obscure by a movement of the yellow 

 feathers surrounding it, so that it sometimes appears to 

 flash like the sparkle of the firefl}^ The female and 

 young have only the yellow in the place of the bright 

 crest of the adult male. Their stay is often prolonged 

 several days in the city and open country. During this 

 time they have only a soft twitter or chirp, much like 

 that of the little chippy, only shorter and lighter. Their 

 fine songs are reserved for their summer home in the 

 deep woods. This song is a sweet, vibrating whistle, 

 and can be heard at a great distance. Burroughs calls 



