66 ACTIVITY OF THE REGULUS. 



is generally a forest bird, nestling in trees, residing on 

 them, and not paying an annual visit to the neighbourhood 

 of houses, like the common Wren ; its bill is very slender, 

 straight, and awl-shaped, and it feeds on insects, for which 





GOLDEN-CHESTED REGULUS. 



it is constantly hunting throughout the whole year. It is 

 a very beautiful bird, the plumage of the upper parts of 

 the body being of a light yellowish brown ; of the lower 

 parts brownish grey ; the silky feathers on the top of the 

 head are of a bright orange colour, with a band on each 

 side of black ; the inner webs of these feathers are of a 

 lemon tint. It is this crest, bearing a fanciful resem- 

 blance to a golden crown, which has given occasion for the 

 generic term Regulus, applied to the diminutive and lively 

 birds which bear it, and of which there are three British 

 species. The one here described is the commonest of the 

 Eeguli, or Kinglets ; it is found in all wooded parts of the 

 country, rather plentifully in most places, and very much 

 so in the larger pine forests, but it is so small, generally so 

 far from the ground, and always so quick in its motions, 

 that we can seldom obtain a perfect view of the little 

 songster, and never a very lengthened one. The command 

 which these tiny creatures have of themselves is really 

 astonishing ; they whisk about among the trees more like 



