WRENS. 137 



GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.— Plate 62. Length, 

 Si inches. Upper parts olive-green, with a yellow- 

 tinge ; wings dusky, with inconspicuous white cross- 

 bars and a plain black patch ; under parts yellowish- 

 gray ; bright-orange stripe along the crown, enclosed 

 between parallel black bars. Resident. 



Eggs. — 5—8, at times more, fleshy or buffish-white, 

 with minute spots of reddish -brown, chiefly at the 

 larger end ; -52 x -4 (plate 126). 



Nest. — Very deep and compact, made of moss, 

 lichens, and spiders' webs, lined with feathers, and 

 suspended beneath, but rarely placed upon, a branch, 

 often of a fir, or against ivy-covered trees. 



Distribution. — General. 



The Goldcrest shares with the Common Wren the 

 distinction of being one of the two smallest British 

 breeding birds, although these two birds, in spite 

 of their possessing in common the popular name of 

 Wren, are not nearly related. In appearance also 

 the Goldcrest differs much from the little, brown 

 Common Wren. Yellowish-olive above and yellowish- 

 gray below, with gold-slashed crown, and wings barred 

 with white and patched with black, it is as bright as 

 it is small. Occurring almost universally throughout 

 the British Isles, it is specially to be found where 

 yews and firs grow, under a branch of one of which 

 it usually ' slings ' its nest. The bird is easier to 

 observe in winter, being resident, and joined at that 

 time by a large immigration from the Continent. It 

 may be seen threading the hedgerows and shrubberies 



