FIBECBEST. . 151 



are said to be more shy than the Goldcrests, and to go 

 in smaller parties, more than six or seven, no doubt the 

 family party, being seldom seen together. They are, like 

 them, remarkably restless, and brisk and quick in all their 

 motions, one moment intently engaged in the search for 

 insects, the next, as if on some secret signal, 'exeunt omnes.' 

 The male and female are said to exhibit great attachment 

 to one another. 



They feed on the same kind of food as the other species, 

 and the livelong day witnesses their ceaseless pursuit of the 

 insects which infest the places where they therefore seek and 

 find them. 



The nest is built of moss, wool, and a few grasses, lined 

 with fur and feathers. It is suspended from the branch of a 

 fir or other tree. 



The eggs are said to be from five or six to eight or ten 

 in number, and of a pale reddish yellow tint, minutely 

 speckled with yellowish grey about the larger end, but they 

 vary in size and colour. 



Male; length, not quite four inches; bill, black, broadened 

 at the base; a black streak proceeds from its base through 

 the eye, and below it is another; the inside of the mouth is 

 orange- colour; iris, dark brown; over the eye is a greyish 

 white streak, and also another under it. The crest, fiery 

 red; on each side of it is a black streak, forming the third; 

 forehead, greyish white, tinged with red or yellowish; neck 

 on the back and nape, yellowish olive green, with a tint of 

 brownish ash-colour; chin, throat, and breast, greyish white, 

 strongly tinged on the sides with buif; back, yellowish olive 

 green, with a tint of brown. 



The wings have the first quill feather very short, the second 

 shorter than the third, the fourth and fifth nearly equal, and 

 the longest; greater wing coverts, dusky, broadly bordered 

 with greenish white, and tipped with greyish white; lesser 

 wing coverts, also dusky, broadly bordered with greenish 

 white; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, dusky, margined 

 with yellowish green, the last-named most widely so, except 

 towards the base, where their outer web is dusky black, 

 forming a dark spot. Tail, dusky, margined with yellowish 

 green; it is slightly forked, and extends three quarters of an 

 inch beyond the closed wings. Legs and toes, yellowish 

 brown, the soles yellow and rough; claws, brown. 



The female has the crest fiery orange red, but somewhat 



