18 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
“feet touched the hat it startled him, and with a quick 
chirp he flew to another tree. I could not again coax 
him within reach, although he watched me curiously for 
some time. : 
Most of them pass the winter months in the south- 
ern forests, and the summer in the northern woods 
away from the haunts of men; though some of them 
pass the summer in Central and Western New York. 
Ornithologists do not credit them with breeding as far 
south as this, but I have little doubt that they nest in 
the woods at Portage, Idlewood and Angola, as I have 
found them here in pairs, and in full song, from April 
till the middle of July. The golden-crowned wren is 
olive green above, darker between the wings; the outer 
webs of the wings and tail feathers are bright green; 
the under parts of the body a grayish white; the wings 
marked with black, with two white bars across them. 
There is a patch of bright orange on the crown, mar- 
gined with yellow and black. This bright: crown spot 
the bird can obscure by a movement of the yellow 
feathers surrounding it, so that it sometimes appears to 
flash like the sparkle of the firefly. The female and 
young have only the yellow in the place of the bright 
crest of the adult male. Their stay is often prolonged 
several days in the city and open country. During this 
time they have only a soft twitter or.chirp, much like 
that of the little chippy, only shorter and lighter. Their 
fine songs are reserved for their summer home in the 
deep woods. This song is a sweet, vibrating whistle, 
and can be heard at a great distance. Burroughs calls 
