74 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



with buff. The wings and tail are olive-green, but 

 the flight-feathers are edged with yellowish-white, and 

 prettily barred with white, which is very perceptible in 

 flight. 



Although so diminutive, the Gold-crest is to be found 

 in countries where the climate would appear to be alto 

 gether prohibitory to so small a bird ; but the poor little 

 creature seems somehow to exist, even amid the snow 

 and frost-bound wastes of Siberia, and positively revels 

 amidst the pine-clad hills and mountains of Norway 

 and Sweden ; indeed, the race would appear to particularly 

 affect the north, and it is chiefly in such countries that 

 these birds build and make their homes. 



Though their powers of flight are necessan/y re- 

 stricted, the Gold-crest is a partially migratory bird, for 

 although many stay in England throughout the winter, 

 yet a number leave us. Another peculiar migration occurs 

 in October, when these birds visit gardens in the south in 

 such considerable numbers, that in 1882, in a garden at 

 Brighton, a boy killed with a catapult as many as twenty 

 birds in one day. At these times, in spite of their gre- 

 garious habits, they are continually fighting one another. 



Although their diminutive size often enables them 

 to evade observation, the Gold-crest is not a shy bird, 

 but will allow an observer to approach within a few 

 yards ; indeed, it would seem as if fear in a bird's mind 

 increased in direct proportion to its size. Gales seem to 

 have a great effect upon this pretty little bird, and it is 

 more generally seen immediately after one of those dis- 

 turbances of nature. Indeed, it would appear that wind 

 has a much more distressing influence upon these birds 

 than even frost or snow. 



