SYLVIA. 



755 



more common one. It is also probable that the 

 crested wren of North America is a different species, 

 although it resembles the fiery crest more than it does 

 the other eastern species. It is about four inches 

 long-, and six and a half in the stretch of the wings, 

 and one half heavier than our gold crest, being about 

 one hundred and twenty grains, while ours is eighty. 

 The upper part is yellowish olive, with grey on the 

 hind neck, a white line passes across the forehead and 

 over the eyes, above this there is a line of black ex- 

 tending the whole length of the top of the head, above 

 this again the yellow, and, where the yellow feathers 

 of the two sides meet, there is a line of bright fire red, 

 so that the bird is both golden and fiery in the crest. 

 The two lobes which form the crest, open and shut at 

 the pleasure of the bird, and have a very pretty effect 

 when it is whisking about among the leaves and twigs. 

 From the gape to the eye is dotted with black, there 

 is a white spot under the eye, then a black line ex- 

 tending as far as the ear covert, and a white one below 

 it. The breast, the flanks, and the vent feathers are 

 cream colour ; the wings dusky, with yellow margins 

 to the quills, white tips to the greater coverts, and a 

 black line immediately under them. The tail is long, 

 forked, of a dusky colour with yellowish orange mar- 

 gins to the lateral feathers. The legs are brown, the 

 feet and claws yellow and the bill black. 



In the middle states of the American union it is a 

 regular bird of passage, arriving from the south about 

 the first of April, and continuing through that month 

 and part of May, by the close of which the whole 

 have disappeared. They return again in October in 

 much greater numbers, and are particularly active 

 and useful in clearing the copses and orchards from 

 insects. At that season they are in excellent con- 

 dition. They continue in the central states till the 

 winter sets in, and then they move southward to the 

 cedar swamps and other wooded places near the sea 

 and the rivers of the southern states. 



Their migrations in America are so regular, and 

 their numbers so considerable, that they are a good 

 subject in which to observe the general habit of mi- 

 gration, especially in its different characters upon the 

 middle passage at the two seasons. On their spring 

 passage, the birds are excited by the physiological 

 impulse, and they keep moving onwards, and pass 

 over the ground in succession, so that they do not 

 appear so numerous at any one place as they do in 

 ,he autumn, at which time their chief object is food, 

 and where they find that in abundance they remain 

 ill it is exhausted, or till the severity of the weather 

 >huts them out from it or otherwise obliges them to 

 retire. Autumn is also the season of plenty ; but 

 hat alone is not the reason why birds and other 

 animals are in best condition at that time ; for much 

 also depends upon the fact that the whole energy of 

 heir nature is concentrated upon, the operation of 

 ceding. In the middle states of America this wren 

 never sings, its voice being only a very feeble chirp; 

 jut it is a songster, though a very subdued one, in 

 the more northerly places in which it breeds. Wil- 

 sonii, or Auriflamma, ought perhaps to be the name 

 of this one, to distinguish it from the crested wrens of 

 Europe. 



The Rviby-crested Wren (R. calendnhi) is another 

 American species, very similar to the former in size 

 and in habits, but not just exactly the same. The 

 upper parts are nearly the same colour as in the 

 preceding species, only more inclining to yellow, and 



with no grey on the hind neck. The dark colour on 

 the wings and tail is purplish brown instead of dusky, 

 and the under parts are yellowish white. The co- 

 loured part of the crest is a spot of bright ruby red; 

 which is alternately hidden and exposed by the lea- 

 thers at the sides. The feet are of the same colour 

 as in the former species, only the yellow is a little 

 brighter. They come rather earlier in the spring 

 into the middle states, and they are rather later in 

 the autumn ; and probably they breed farther to the 

 north. They are exceedingly active in the trees, 

 and clear them of vast numbers of insects, though in 

 the spring they stand accused of eating the essential 

 parts of the blossoms of early fruit trees. In this, 

 however, there is probably the same mistake which 

 is often made respecting the tits and some others of 

 the more active and useful birds of our own country. 

 Wilson says they " are particularly numerous in the 

 month of October, and the beginning of November, 

 in orchards among the decaying leaves of the apple 

 trees that, at that season, are infested with great 

 numbers of black-winged insects, among which they 

 (the wrens) make great havoc. I have often re- 

 gretted the painful necessity one is under of taking 

 away the lives of such inoffensive, useful little crea- 

 tures, merely to obtain a more perfect knowledge of 

 the species ; for they appear so busy, so active and 

 unsuspecting, as to continue searching about the 

 same twig, even after their companions have been 

 shot down beside them. They are more remark- 

 ably so in autumn, which may be owing to the great 

 number of young 1 and inexperienced birds which are 

 then among them ; and frequently, at this season, I 

 have stood under the tree motionless to observe 

 them, while they glanced among the bare branches, 

 sometimes within a foot or two of my head. They 

 are extremely adroit at catching their prey ; have 

 only at times a feeble chirp ; visit the tops of the 

 tallest trees as well as the lowest bushes ; and con- 

 tinue generally for a considerable time among the 

 branches of the same tree, darting about from place 

 to place ; appearing, when on the top of a high, 

 maple, no bigger than humble bees." 



The above quotation contains by far the best ac- 

 count of the autumnal action of these birds that has 

 ever been published ; and it is not confined to the 

 ruby-crowned specie?, but applies equally to all the 

 rest. Wilson is not quite correct in supposing that 

 the fearlessness of the birds in autumn is owing to 

 the inexperience of the young, for old and young are 

 equally fearless, and equally unaffected by what we 

 call experience. In the autumn the whole energy 

 of the bird is, as we have said, concentrated upon its 

 feeding ; whereas in the spring it is actuated by 

 another impulse, along with which there is awakened 

 that vigilance which comes to its full development at 

 the time when the birds leave their nests and young. 

 What we are accustomed to call the results of ex- 

 perience in birds, are all produced by the circum- 

 stances in which they are placed at the time, some 

 of which are local as arising from the place, and 

 others seasonal as arising from themselves. 



There is a fine instance of natural adaptation to 

 be traced here. Autumn is the time when the bud- 

 protecting birds are most on the alert ; and have no 

 impulse to draw their attention from their labour ; 

 and autumn is the time at which that labour is most 

 valuable. It depends in a great measure upon the 

 character of the weather in the spring, whether the 

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