138 WRENS. 



wibh the creeping motions of the Common Wren, or 

 clambering about the branches of higher trees with 

 the eccentric posturings of the Titmice, emitting at 

 times a small, anxious 'chinking' note as it goes. 

 The call is a shrill ' Zee. ! zee ! ' frequently uttered, 

 now by one, now by another, of the little band of 

 winter foragers as they flit from tree to tree in 

 never-ending search for their inseCt-food. They are 

 at such times frequent companions of the Long-Tailed 

 Tits, who have a similar call-note — ■' Zee ! ' The Gold- 

 crest does not cock its tail like the Common Wren, 

 but has the habit of pufEng out its plumage and 

 drooping its wings at its sides. Its size, colours, and 

 the distribution of the colours are such as to give 

 the bird a peculiarly moth-like appearance, especially 

 when seen fluttering to support itself as it seeks 

 to cling to the trunk of a tree while examining 

 the bark. 



DARTPORD WARBLER, or PURZE-WREN.— 



Plate 63. Length, 5 inches, of which 2^ inches are 

 tail. Upper parts blackish-brown ; chin, throat, and 

 breast chestnut ; belly white ; tail graduated, with 

 white edges to the outside feathers ; bill dark and 

 sharp ; feet pale brown. Resident. 



Eggs. — 4—5, greenish-white, closely spotted with 

 brown over paler brown and gray; -68 x '5 inch 

 (plate 126). 



Nest. — Of dead grass-stems and soft furze-shoots 

 and. wool, lined with finer grass-stems, and placed 



