356 



THE FIKE-CRESTED WREN. 



itself through the air to a fresh tree, and then flings itself back again 

 to its former perch. Along the twigs it runs with astonishing rapidity, 

 sometimes clinging with its head downward, sometimes running round 

 and round them spirally, always twisting its pert little head in every 

 direction, 'and probing each hole and crevice with its sharp, slender lit- 

 tle bill. The roughest-barked trees are its favorite resort, because in 

 such localities it finds its best supply of insect food. 



The nest of this beautiful little bird is exquisitely woven of various 

 soft substances, and is generally suspended to a trunk where it is well 



sheltered from the weather. I 

 have often found its nest, and in 

 every instance have noticed that 

 it is shaded by leaves, the project- 

 ing portion of a branch, or some 

 such protection. In one case the 

 nest, which was suspended to a fir 

 branch, was almost invisible be- 

 neath a heavy bunch of large 

 cones that drooped over it, and 

 forced the bird to gain admission 

 by creeping along the branch to 

 which the nest was suspended. 

 The edifice is usually supported 

 by three branches, one above and 

 one at either side. The nest is 

 usually lined with feathers, and 

 contains a considerable number 

 of eggs, generally from six to ten. 

 These eggs are hardly bigger than 

 peas, and, as may be supposed, their 

 shells are so delicately thin that to extract the interior without damag- 

 ing them is a very difficult matter. 



The entire length of this bird is about three inches and a half, and its 

 general color is brownish above, marked with olive-green, and flanked 

 with white on the wing-coverts. The under surface is yellowish gray, 

 the beak is black, and the eye hazel-brown. The forehead is marked 

 with grayish white ; the crest is brilliant yellow tipped with orange, 

 and on each side of it runs a black line. The female is not so brilliant 

 in her coloring, and the crest is wholly of a pale yellow. 



The Fire-crested Wren is very similar to the preceding species, 

 but may be distinguished from it by the ruddy hue of the forehead, the 

 fiery orange of the crest, and the decidedly yellow hue of the sides of 

 the neck. It is an inhabitant of England, but is a much rarer bird than 

 the Golden-crest. Owing to the great resemblance between the two 



Wrens. 



