though showing a decided preference for streams fringed by 
osier-beds and thickets, is more of a wanderer than the other 
two, since tangled hedgerows, and thickets, at a distance 
from the water will often suffice him. You may know him 
by the fact that he is of a dark brown colour above, streaked 
with a paler shade of brown, while the under parts are white, 
tinged on the breast and flanks with creamy buff. 
Ornithologists rarely concern themselves with anything 
but the superficial characters of birds. Not even the struc- 
ture of the feathers interests them, but only their coloration. 
Hence it is that they have come, quite commonly, to regard 
“cc 
the gold-crest, or “‘ gold-crested wren,” as it is sometimes 
called, as one of the tit-mouse group! There is not even 
the remotest justification for this view. It is an indubitable 
warbler. A glance at the coloured Plate will render any 
description of its appearance unnecessary. From autumn 
to spring you may find it in most parts of England and 
Scotland—save the extreme north—hunting in hedgerows 
and woods for food. During the breeding season it favours 
coniferous woods. Along the south and east of England, 
one may also meet with a closely similar species—the fire- 
crest. But while in the gold-crest the crown is of a bright 
lemon-yellow, in the fire-crest it is of a bright red-orange 
hue, while the side of the head is marked by a white stripe 
bordered with black. 
219 
