24 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 constantly in motion, hopping 
from branch to branch, or climbing on trees, frequently with the 
head downwards, searching the chinks of the hark 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 Germany, 
and sold in the markets of that city, where they command a high 
price. 
Wilson, in his account of the present species, observes, that “the 
very accurate description given by the Count de Buffon, agrees, in 
every respect, with ours.” Notwithstanding this observation, Buf- 
fon’s plate and description designate the ignicapillus beyond the 
possibility 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 plate, and more especially his description, as well 
as the inspection of the very individual he delineated, and a hun¬ 
dred 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. 
