24 BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 
1896, and February, 1897, describes the Golden-crested 
Wren as : " Very plentiful, perhaps the commonest bird 
in the district."* , , c ^ i. 
In the autumn, seldom before the latter half of September, 
the numbers of our resident birds are greatly mcreased by 
an immigration from further north. Such of these im- 
migrants as have been examined have proved to belong to 
the British race of the Golden-crested Wren which has 
been separated by Dr. Hartert on account of its darker 
and duller coloration.t In winter, flocks of this tmy bird 
may be seen in company with Titmice and Tree-Creepers, 
busily searching the tree-trunks and branches for msect- 
food In March and April the emigration of these winter- 
birds takes place, and often not before our residents have 
built their beautiful nests. The latter are generally placed 
beneath the extremity of the branch of some evergreen 
tree, and are so difficult to find that the bird is often 
wrongly considered a rare breeding-species. 
It should be remembered that locally the Golden-crested 
Wren is often given the name of the " Crested Tit, a 
species unknown in the county. {See p. 42.) 
[The rumours which have reached me of the occurrence 
of the FiEE-CRESTBD Ween (Regulus igmcapillws (C. 1.. 
Brehm) ) in Dumfriesshire are due to confusion with the last 
species. The Fire-crest, as its name impUes, has a more 
brilliantly-coloured crown than the Gold-crest and the 
adult male is easily distinguished by the " golden frontal 
band, which unites on each side with a white streak passing 
above and behind the eye, and separatmg a parallel black 
line [which passes through the eye] from the broader and 
blacker upper bands which enclose the rich orange yellow 
crest."J , f 
Its winter-quarters are in Algeria and some parts oi 
• Zoologist, 1898, p. 507. 
t Britiah Birds (Mag.), Vol. I., p. 218. 
X Man. Brit. Birds, 1899, p. 60. 
