TUE GOLD- CREST. 87 



as it is sometimes termed [Regains auricapillus) . Its 

 lengtli is about three inclies and a half, and its weight 

 no more than seventy-five or eighty grains. It is 

 called also kinglet : and its Latin name, Regidus, 

 signifying also a little king, was evidently bestowed 

 in consequence of the soft silky feathers of its head, 

 which arc orange-coloured in the centre, shading 

 off, on the sides, to a delicate yellow thit. A 

 stripe of black runs along each side of the crest, 

 and contrasts beautifully with the gayer hue. 

 The beauty, both of colour and form, of this little 

 bird is extreme, and its movements are most agile 

 and gi'aceful, no bird being more active tlian this. 

 Now the gold-crests wliisk througli the dark 

 branches of the fir-trees, like so many sylphs ; now 

 tliey hang liovering over a flower, singing all the 

 while their melodious notes; and again they may 

 be seen clinging, indifferently, in all positions to 

 the bouglis, sometimes with their feet upwards. 

 Being so small as that a leaf may cover them, they 

 are often hidden by tlie verdant screen of summer ; 

 though when the wind is sighing through the bare 

 branches of winter, they may be seen gathering in 

 small companies, looking diligently into the cre- 

 vices of the bark, or betaking themselves to the 



