188 



can be but little doubt that it had arrived in that 

 country previous to or immediately after its 

 autumnal migration. A single specimen of this 

 bird, shot in Dalmatia, in 1829, was figured by 

 Gould in his, " Birds of Europe ;" one of a species 

 in his opinion so extremely rare, that he con- 

 siders the individual which he described as unique 

 in the continental collections. 



EEGULUS, FIRE-CRESTED. 



BEGFLTJS IGNICAPILLTJS, Temm. 



This species is easily distinguished by the two 

 black bands on each side of the head, and by 

 another across the forehead, but is otherwise very 

 similar to the common Gold-crest. It has been 

 met with several times in the eastern parts of 

 England, the first specimen having been obtained 

 at Swaffham Bubeck, near Cambridge, in the 

 autumn of 1832. It is said to be dispersed 

 over the Continent, and to be migratory. In 

 France the individuals of this species are usually 

 seen together in pairs, and like the common 

 Gold-crest, they associate with Titmice, but seem 

 restless and shy. They appear to prefer low 

 brushwood and young plantations of fir to the 

 lofty trees. In the nest, which is suspended under 

 a branch of fir, from five to nine eggs, of a pale 



