﻿Beneficial to Agriadture. $7 



the throat to the bill, and encircling the pure white cheeks ; upper 

 parts yellowish-green ; wings and tail blue, secondaries and coverts 

 tipped with white ; under-parts light olivaceous-yellow ; bill leaden- 

 black ; feet blue-grey. The female is generally duller throughout. 



GOLDEN-CEESTED WEEN. (PL XX.) 



Begulus cristatus. 



Although the most diminutive of all European birds, the tiny 

 Gold Crest is a most beneficial species, as it is almost entirely 

 insectivorous, feeding upon all kinds of insects, including a large 

 number of minute but very destructive species. 



This little bird is resident and widely distributed over the 

 British Islands, while in the autumn the number of resident birds 

 is enormously increased by the arrival of thousands from abroad. 

 So great are their numbers in certain years that myriads arrive 

 and extend throughout the entire length of the eastern coasts 

 of both England and Scotland, and many extend their range 

 westward to Ireland. 



Well-wooded districts are its chief haunts, especially where 

 pine, larch, and other fir trees abound, and in the winter months it 

 may often be met with in flocks and frequently in company with 

 long-tailed tits, regularly hunting the hedgerows in more open 

 country in search of their insect food, which they are able to find 

 in plenty hidden away in the crevices of the bark even during the 

 severest and most prolonged frosts. These little birds, therefore, 

 are doing good throughout the entire year. 



Its favourite nesting-places are spruce and larch plantations. 

 The beautifully constructed little globular nest is attached beneath 

 a branch of fir, usually at the extremity, and is formed of moss 

 woven together with spider's web and a few feathers and densely 

 lined with soft feathers ; but occasionally it places its nest in ivy 

 covering tree trunks, and sometimes in bushes. The. eggs vary 

 from five to eight, and sometimes ten in number. The ground- 

 colour is either white or cveamy-white, more or less minutely 

 speckled with rust-red. 



The Gold Crest is olive-green above, shading into yellowish 

 on the rump ; the crown is bright yellow in front, shading into 

 brilliant orange behind, and bordered on each side by a black 



