460 BRITISH BIRDS. 



which you hear the harsh cawee caivee of the Barbaiy Partridge as it 

 nestles amongst the stones and scrub. Ever and anon the soft note of the 

 Hoopoe, or the cry of Levaillant^s Woodpecker, or of the Algerian Jay falls 

 upon the ear; whilst in the bushes near at hand may be seen the charming 

 little Moussier's Buschat, the Algerian Chaffinch, and, more rarely, a 

 gorgeous Roller. The trees are full of life. Here, in close company with 

 the rare Algerian Coal Tit, the Firecrest is very common. It is seen in 

 the tall cedar trees, and is restless and busy amongst the branches fifty 

 feet above, exploring all the twigs in search of its favourite food. The 

 Firecrest is also almost as common in the evergreen-oak forests, searching 

 the lower branches all amongst the lichens and tree-moss for insects ; and 

 every now and then its brilliant crest glistens conspicuously in the sunlight. 

 Its note sounds shriller to me than a Goldcrest^s ; but I think it was quite 

 as familiar and trustful as that other little favourite bird of mine. In its 

 motions it puts you in mind of the Willow-Wrens ; and when, as I have 

 sometimes seen it, hanging with one leg from a drooping bough, picking 

 out the insects from a bud, it looks precisely like a Tit. Although we 

 were in these forests in May, the birds did not seem to have begun to 

 breed." 



The nest of the Firecrest does not differ from that of the Goldcrest. As 

 in that species, it is suspended under the drooping branches of a fir tree, 

 usually near the extremity of the branch, amongst the twigs of which it is 

 artfully concealed, these twigs being also interwoven with the sides of the 

 nest. It is made chiefly of the greenest moss, felted together with spider^s 

 webs and studded with lichens. Inside it is lined with a profusion of 

 feathers. When placed amongst branches thickly clothed with lichens and 

 tree-moss, this material almost entirely forms the outside of the nest ; for, 

 like the Chaffinch and the Long-tailed Tit, the Firecrest imitates most 

 closely the surroundings of its home, and in this fact doubtless its safety 

 rests. The eggs of the Firecrest are as numerous as those of the Goldcrest, 

 and are usually nine or ten in number, sometimes less, and, in rare in- 

 stances, more. They may always be distinguished from the eggs of the 

 Goldcrest by their much redder tinge. They are reddish white in ground- 

 colour, richly marbled and speckled over the entire surface with brownish 

 red. Some specimens are only so richly coloured on the larger end of the 

 egg ; but usually the whole surface is covered. On some specimens a few 

 minute streaks of brown are found. They measure from '56 to "5 inch in 

 length and from '45 to "4 inch in breadth. It is not known that the 

 Firecrest has ever bred in the British Islands. 



The food of the Firecrest is similar to that of the Goldcrest — small 

 insects, little seeds, and probably berries, as in the allied species. The 

 Firecrest, it would appear, performs its annual migrations in company with 

 its close congener the Goldcrest to a large extent ; and the specimens that 



