PEEPERS AND CREEPERS 119 



*' Does this Kinglet lay two little white eggs, like the 

 Hummingbird ? " asked Nat. 



" No," said the Doctor, " this sturdy bird lays eight 

 or ten white eggs with brown spots." 



'' Ten eggs ! " cried Dodo. " Hoav can it sit on 

 them all at once and keep them warm enough to 

 hatch?" 



''Perhaps the birds stir the eggs up every day to 

 give them all an even chance," said Rap. 



" It is possible that they may," said the Doctor ; "but 

 that is one of many things about home life in Birdland 

 that we do not know. 



" There is one thing more that I must tell you here, lest 

 you make a mistake about the Golden-crowned King- 

 let. He has a twin brother, so much like himself that 

 their own parents can hardly tell them apart without 

 looking at the tops of their heads. The other twin's 

 name is Ruby-crown, for he has a beautiful little crest 

 of that color, half hidden in dark greenish ; but not 

 any of the black and yellow marks on the head that 

 will always enable you to recognize the Golden-crown, 

 if you can get a chance to see them while the little 

 fellow is fidgeting about. It is a snug famil}^ that 

 contains these two birdlets, for there is only one other 

 member of it in all this part of the world, and you will 

 not be likely to see him about Orchard Farm." 



The Golden-crovvrned Kinglet 



Length four inches. 



Upper parts olive-green, browner on the wings and tail, wliich 

 have some yellowish edgings. 



A bright-red stripe on the crown, bordered by a yellow and then 



