100 



KINGLETS AND GNATCATCHERS. 

 Description. 



EUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 



Adult. Crown with a partly concealed crest of rich scarlet; upper parts, 

 greenish olive; helow whitish; wings and tail dusky, edged with yellowish; wing 

 coverts whitish tipped. 



Immature. Similar, but crown patch wanting during first year. 

 L., 4.50; W., 2.25; T., 1.70. 



Nest, usually in a coniferous tree. Eggs, five to nine, whitish, faintly speckled 

 with reddish brown at the larger end. 



GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. 



Adult male. Centre of crown bright reddish orange, bordered by yellow and 

 black; a whitish line over the eye; rest of upper parts olive green; wings and tail 

 dusky, margined with greenish yellow ; under parts soiled whitish. 



Adult female. Similar, but crown without orange, its centre yellow and bor- 

 dered by black. 



L., 4.50; W., 2.25; T., 1.70. 



Nest, in coniferous trees. Eggs five to nine, creamy white, spotted with brown 

 and lilac. 



BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. 



Adult male. Upper parts bluish gray; forehead narrowly bordered by black; 

 wings edged by grayish, the secondaries bordered with whitish; outer tail feathers 

 white; changing gradually until the middle ones are black; under parts dull grayish 

 white. 



L., 4.50; W., 2.05; T., 2.00. 



Nest, in a tree. Eggs, four or five, bluish white, thickly speckled with varying 

 shades of brown. 



WEED DESTROYERS. 



It used to be the custom to divide birds into three classes with reference to the 

 food they are supposed to eat, viz., birds of prey, insect eaters, and seed eaters. No 

 such distinction can properly be made; all birds, even the Hawks and Owls, feed 

 more or less upon insects, and nearly all the so-called seed-eating birds raise their 

 young entirely upon insects. After the young reach maturity and the approach of 

 cold weather reduces the insect supply, birds of this class display their usefulness by 

 helping to clear the fields of the seeds of weeds as they ripen, and all througlx the 

 winter they continue the work of harvesting this most objectionable crop. 



Year after year farmers and gardeners expend large sums for labor applied for 

 the destruction of noxious weeds, and would no doubt be willing to pay much more 

 to fully protect their crops from injury by these pests if it could be done. Perfect 

 immunity from insects and weeds can never be expected. We may, however, reduce 

 the loss caused by them much below what it is at present without the expenditure 

 of any great amount of time or money by availing ourselves of the assistance of the 

 natural enemies of both of them. 



