GOLDCREST or GOLDEN CRESTED WREN is the type of a small group placed among the Sylviidae, Old World war blers. The goldcrest (Regulus cristatus) is the smallest of British birds, its whole length being about 31 in., and its weight some 5 grams. Generally of an olive-green colour, the top of its head is bright yellow, deepening into orange, and bounded on either side by a black line. The wing coverts are dull black with a whitish bar. The cock has a pleasant but weak song, which has been com pared to the squeaking of young mice. The nest is of moss, wool and spiders' webs, lined with feathers, and usually built under and near the end of the branch of a yew, fir or cedar, supported by the interweaving of two or three twigs. The six to ten eggs are dull white, sometimes freckled with reddish-brown. The species lives most of the year in family parties often in company with titmice. Though to be met with in Britain at all seasons, in the autumn large numbers of migrants from northern Europe visit the east coast. A more local European species is the fire-crest (R. ignicapillus) recognizable by the black streak on each side of the head, as well as by the deeper colour of its crown. A third species, R. maderensis, inhabits the Madeiras. Examples from the Himalayas and Japan are R. himalayensis and R. japonicas. North America has two species, R. satrapa, very like the European R. ignicapillus, and the ruby-crowned wren, R. calendula, which has a loud and very melodious song.