148 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



never ending search for food. That such small 

 creatures can withstand the terrible cold of a 

 northern winter is one of the unexplained 

 mysteries of Nature. Yet they work away in the 

 biting cold, apparently as happy as Chickadees, 

 now examining the bark at the foot of a tree, 

 now among its limbs, clinging to the tips of 

 the branches like Chickadees, but even more 

 restless and hurried. So rapidly do they move 

 about, one needs to be very alert to catch a 

 glimpse of their bright crowns through the 

 glasses. 



The notes of the Golden-crowned Kinglet are, 

 as we have seen, shrill and wiry, 'Hse, tse^ tse^ 

 ti, ti, ti,^^ not highly musical but very welcome 

 in the season so barren of bird song. They nest 

 from northern New England northward, usually 

 in the evergreen forest. The nest, a well built 

 and exceedingly beautiful structure, is made of 

 fine bark, rootlets and moss, lined with feathers. 

 It is usually placed high above the ground, and 

 is pensile or semi-pensile. The tiny eggs, eight 

 to ten in number, are creamy white, spotted 

 and blotched with brown. The summer range 

 of the Golden-crowned is from northern United 

 States to Labrador, and southward along the 

 Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. It winters 

 from the southern portion of its breeding range 

 south to Central America. 



Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The general appear- 

 ance of this bird is so much like its cousin that 

 I am never sure of its identity unless I can 

 see its bright red crown or the two whitish wing 

 bars. Otherwise its colors are much like the 



