GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 
147 
colour is cream, or sullied white; some are mottled all over 
with a darker shade of the same colour, and in others the 
spots are confined to a zone at the larger end. The young 
are fed by both parents, who are indefatigable in their task ; 
they remain in the nest until they can fiy. These Wrens 
breed early, and are believed to produce two broods in the 
season ; the late broods are seldom so many in number as 
the early. 
The entire length of the Golden-crested Wren is three 
inches and a half. The wing, from the carpus to the tip, 
measures two inches ; the first quill-feather is less than half 
the length of the second; the second is two lines shorter than 
the third, fourth, and fifth, which are ecpial, and the longest 
in the wing. The bill measures three lines and a quarter 
from the forehead to the tip ; the nostrils, which are oval, are 
entirely covered by two stiff bristly feathers, of great beauty, 
directed forward. The tarsus measures seven lines, and the 
tail extends nine lines beyond the tips of the folded wings. 
The plumage of this species is olive-green on the upper 
parts of the body, including the sides of the head and nape, 
the back, scapulars, and upper tail-coverts; the feathers on 
the low^er parts of the back are the lightest, inclining to 
greenish-yellow. The quill-feathers of the tail and wings are 
purplish-brown, bordered with yellow, except near the base of 
the secondaries, where the omission of the yellow borders 
causes a dark spot; the larger and smaller coverts are purple 
brown, bordered with yellowish-green, and each feather tipped 
with a large white spot, forming two bars across the wings. 
The iris is dark brown, the eyelid black ; the eyes are sur¬ 
rounded by a pale dusky ring, around which extends another 
circle of dull white; the ear-coverts and forehead are pale 
yellowish-grey. The chin, and all the under parts are sullied 
white, tinged on the flanks, and still more strongly on the 
breast with rufous yellow. The legs and feet are orange- 
