138 WRENS. 



with the ci'eeping motions of the Common Wren, or 

 clambering about the branches of higher trees with 

 the eccentric posturings of the Titmice, emitting at 

 times a small, anxious 'chinking' note as it goes. 

 The call is a shrill ' Zee ! zee ! ' frequentlj^- uttered, 

 now by one, now by another, of the little band of 

 winter foragers as they flit from tree to tree in 

 never-ending search for their insect-food. Thej^ are 

 at such times frequent companions of the Long-Tailed 

 Tits, who have a similar call-note — ' Zee ! ' The Gold- 

 crest does not code its tail like the Common Wren, 

 but has the habit of puffing out its plumage and 

 drooping its wings at its sides. Its size, coloui-s, and 

 the distribution of the colours are such as to give 

 the bird a peculiarly moth-like appearance, especially 

 when seen fluttering to support itself as it seeks 

 to cling to the trunk of a tree while examining 

 the bark. 



DARTFORD WARBLER, or FURZE -WREN.— 



Plate 63. Length, 5 inches, of which 2^ inches are 

 tail. Upper parts blackish-brown ; chin, throat, and 

 breast chestnut ; belly white ; tail graduated, with 

 white edges to the outside feathers ; bill dark and 

 sharp ; feet pale brown. Resident. 



Eggs. — 4-5, greenish-white, closely spotted witli 

 brown over paler brown and gray ; '68 '^ '5 inch 

 (plate 126). 



Nest. — Of dead grass-stems and soft furze-shoots 

 and wool, lined witli iluer grass-stems, and placed 



