GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN 



Regulus crtstatus 



Golden-crested \\'ren is very widely distributed through- 

 out Great Britain and Ireland, and is a resident in this 

 country. It has largely increased its range in Scotland 

 during the last century, chiefly owing to the extensive 

 planting of fir-trees during that time. It breeds in many 

 of the inner islands, but has not as yet done so in the 

 Outer Hebrides. In Orkney and Shetland it is common 

 during the migrations. 



Its favourite haunts are among the well-wooded parts of the country, 

 especially in the large plantations and woods of spruce-fir and larch, and 

 among the ornamental pines and firs in our shrubberies. During the winter 

 it often wanders along the hedgerows in search of food, generally in the 

 company of Tits. It is sometimes seen in quite bare places busily engaged 

 in hunting for insects among the juniper bushes, but this is, as a rule, 

 during the migration, when tired and hungry after a long journey. Like 

 the Tits, it hangs upside down while exploring the underside of the branches 

 for insects, and goes carefully over the whole branch, sometimes hovering 

 under a leaf and picking the insects off. It is very difficult to see, and some 

 movement of a twig alone discloses its whereabouts, as its tiny call -note, 

 'si-si-si,' is very difficult to locate. It is not at all a shy bird, and will 

 explore a branch carefully, for insects, within a few feet of the observer's 

 head, hardly seeming to notice him. 



The food of the Golden-crested Wren consists chiefly of the insects found 

 among the leaves or bark of the trees, or on the young shoots ; it also catches 

 them as they fly through the air, making quite an audible snap with its bill 

 as it seizes them. During winter it also eats tiny seeds, chiefly those of the 

 birch, and sometimes small berries. 



The song of the Golden-crested Wren is not a very loud or attractive one, 

 though it seems just to match the place where it is usually heard, in the 



27 



