118 
REGULUS CRISTATUS. 
slender throughout, and two small decomposed feathers, 
directed forwards so as to cover the nostrils. 
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 constantly 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 them- 
selves 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 Germany, and sold in the markets of 
that city, where they command a high price. 
Wilson, in his account of the present species, ob- 
serves, that “ the very accurate description given by the 
Count de Buffon, agrees, in every respect, with ours.” 
Notwithstanding this observation, BuffbiTs plate and 
description designate the Ignicapillus beyond the pos- 
sibility of doubt ; whilst those of Wilson are intended 
for the Cristatus. 
This statement of Wilson, joined to the testimony of 
Vieillot, would have led us to believe the Ignicapillus 
to be an American bird, if Wilson’s description, as well 
as the inspection of the very individual, and a hundred 
others, had not confirmed our own belief. It may, 
however, be considered extraordinary, that so diminu- 
tive 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 w anderings by the boundaries of but one. 
