REGULUS IGNICAPILLUS 101 



REGULUS IGNICAPILLUS (C. L. Brehm). 

 FIRE-CRESTED WREN. 



Sylvia ignicapilla, Brehm. in Tcmm. Man. d'Orn. i, p. 232 (1820). 

 Regulus ignicapillus, Meyer, Taschenb. Dcutsch. Vogelk. iii, p. 109 



( 1822) ; Gadow. Cat. Birds Brit. 2Iiis. viii, p. 83 ; Malherbe, Cat. Bais. 



d'Ois. Alcj. p. 13 (1816) : Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Ois. i, p. 301 (1867) ; 



Koenig, J. f. 0. 1888, p. 175 ; id. J. f. 0. 1892, p. 371 ; Erlanger, 



J.f. 0. 1899, p. 283. 



Description. — Adult male, ■winter, from Ain Draham, North Tunisia. 



Frontal streak, extending from the eye over the base of the bill, greyish- 

 buff; superciliary stripes, extending backwards to the nape, white; above 

 the greyish-buff frontal streak there is a black stripe, extending backwards 

 over the superciliaries, as far as the nape ; in the centre of the crown a 

 flame-coloured crest, becoming yellow on the sides ; nape, back and rump 

 bright golden-green; quills and tail grey-brown; lores and a streak just 

 below and behind the eye blackish ; below this another whitish line ; ear- 

 coverts and sides of the head bluish-grey ; underparts whitish, tinged with 

 grey and green. 



Iris almost black ; bill dark brown ; feet pale brown : toes yellowish. 



Total length 3-50 inches, wing 2, culmen -30, tarsus -70. 



Adult female resembles the male, except in the crest, which is pale 

 yellow and not flame-coloured. 



I have several specimens of the Fire-crested Wren, obtained in 

 winter, in the oak forests of Ain Draham and Fernana in the north 

 of the Regency, and apparently the species is not uncommon in some 

 parts of North Tunis, although not to be found south of the Atlas. 

 It also seems to be a resident and breeding species in those localities 

 where it occurs. R. ignicapillus is not uncommon in North Algeria, 

 and is probably also to be found in North Marocco, although I have 

 no examples of it in my collection from that country. In Madeira 

 the present species is replaced by R. maderensis, a closely allied 

 but perfectly distinct form. In the Canaries another form occurs, 

 B. teneriffm, Seebohm, which apparently differs but slightly from 

 R. cristatus. 



In its general habits and mode of nesting the Fire-crested Wren 

 resembles the Gold-crest, but the eggs of the two species are distin- 

 guishable one from the other. In winter these tiny birds are gener- 

 ally to be met with in small parties, flitting about from bush to bush 



