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FEMALE GOLDEN-CROWNED GOLD-CREST. 
The habits of the gold-crests resemble, in many respects^ 
those of the titmouse. They delight in cold weather, and 
then often perch on evergreen trees. They display great 
activity and agility in search of their food, being almost con- 
stantly in motion, hopping from branch to branch, or climbing 
on trees, frequently with the head downwards, searching the 
chinks of the bark for their prey. These little birds commonly 
feed on the smallest insects, which they catch adroitly while on 
the wing. .In the winter, they seek them in their retreats, 
where they lie torpid or dead. They are also very expert at 
finding larvae and all sorts of small worms, of which they are 
so fond as to gorge themselves exceedingly. During summer, 
they occasionally eat little berries and small grains. In autumn, 
they are fat, and fit for the table, notwithstanding their very 
diminutive size. The species we are describing, is found in 
great quantities in the neighbourhood of Nuremberg, in Ger- 
many, and sold in the markets of that city, where they com- 
mand a high price. 
Wilson, in his account of the present species, observes, that 
“ the very accurate description given by the Count de BulFon, 
agrees, in every respect, with ours.’’ Notwithstanding this 
observation, Buffon’s plate and description designate the igni- 
capillus beyond the possibility of doubt ; whilst those of Wilson 
are intended for the cristatus. 
This statement of Wilson, joined to the testimony of Vieil- 
lot, would have led us to believe the ignicapillus to be an 
American bird, if Wilson’s plate, and more especially his de- 
scription, as well as the inspection of the very individual he 
delineated, and a hundred others, had not confirmed our own 
belief. It may, however, be considered extraordinary, that so 
diminutive a being should extend its range so widely, as to 
participate equally in the bounties of two continents ; and that 
another, so closely allied to it, as to be generally mistaken for 
a mere variety, should be limited in its wanderings by the 
boundaries of but one. 
That the reader may be assured of the specific difference 
