118 
REGULUS CRISTATUS. 
slender throughout, and two small decomposed f eath ff ' 
directed forwards so as to cover the nostrils. , 
The habits of the gold-crests resemble, in 
icnonfo llirtOA f fli A rri d .1. 1 - i'O 
respects, those of the titmouse. They delight in c ° 
weather, and then often perch on 
evergreen tf e y 
They display great activity and agility in search. f 
their food, being- almost constantly in motion, hopp' l ,J 
from branch to branch, or climbing on trees, frequi’ 11 . ( 
with the head downwards, searching the chinks of 1 j 
bark for their prey. These little birds commonly f.u 
on the smallest insects, which they catch adroitly vvh 1 ., 
h« S 
on the wing. In the winter, they seek them in t 
retreats, where they lie torpid or dead. Thev are ! 1 ,s j| 
very expert at finding larvse and all sorts" of s> I,J 
worms, of which they are so fond, as to gorge tb f !j. 
selves exceedingly. During- summer, they occasion 11 
eat little berries and small grains. In autumn, they 11 . 
fat, and fit for the table, notwithstanding their 
diminutive size. The species we are describing J 
found in great quantities in the neighbourhood j 
N uremberg, in Germany, and sold in the markets 
that city, where they command a high price. i, 
Wilson, in his account of the present species, 
serves, that “ the very accurate description given by *”>• 
Count de Button, agrees, in every respect, with o» r! " ( | 
Notwithstanding this observation, Buffon’s plate ^ 
description designate the Jgnicapilhis beyond the p"j 
sibility ot doubt ; whilst those ot Wilson are intea ® 1 
for the Cristatus. J 
This statement of Wilson, joined to the testimony,. 
Vieillot,, would have led us to believe the Iynica^i 
to be an American bird, if Wilson’s description, as ’' j 
as the inspection of the very individual, and a huu«' 
others, had not confirmed our own belief. It 
however, be considered extraordinary, that so ditt" 1 '^ 
tive a being should extend its range so widely, , 
participate equally in the bounties of two connin ' 11 ^ 
and that another, so closely allied to it, as to j 
generally mistaken for a mere variety, should be lb 111 
in its wanderings by the boundaries of but one. 
