FIRE-CRESTED REGULUS. 377 



caught on the rigging of a ship five miles off the coast of 

 Norfolk in the early part of October, 1836. Since that 

 period the Fire-crested Regulus is stated to have been 

 taken in Kent ; four have been obtained in Sussex, as re- 

 corded by Mr. Knox ; W. R. Fisher, Esq., has obtained 

 one in Norfolk, and E. H. Rodd, Esq., of Penzance, has 

 noticed two that have been obtained in Cornwall. 



Although this species is not anywhere so numerous as 

 the little Gold Crest, the general resemblance in the two 

 birds has probably caused the rarer one to be occasionally 

 overlooked. M. Temminck says it is common in large 

 forests in Germany, and M. Brehm, a naturalist of that 

 country, says that it conies there in March and April, and 

 leaves again in September and October. Of the habits of 

 this species in France, M. Vieillot says that its voice is 

 stronger than that of the Gold Crest, and that pairs of them 

 only are usually seen together ; but that the time of their 

 passage in France, as compared with that of the Gold 

 Crest, is later in the spring, and earlier in the autumn. A 

 nest of this bird, found by M. Vieillot near Rouen, was 

 suspended under a branch of a tree, like that of its generic 

 companion, and contained five eggs. According to other 

 authors, this bird sometimes lays as many as ten eggs, of a 

 pale flesh colour, marked with small red spots at the 

 larger end. The food is said to be similar to that of the 

 preceding species. It is occasionally seen in France during 

 winter. It has been noticed in Sicily, Malta, and Algeria. 



I am indebted to Mr. J. D. Hoy for the following notes 

 of the habits of this species, as observed by himself on the 

 Continent, and I insert them with the greater pleasure, be- 

 cause they will assist observers in further identifying the 

 species in this country. 



" M. Temminck describes the Regulus ignicapiUus as 

 common in the Belgian provinces ; but in the parts which I 



