460 LAND BIRDS 



Breeding Range: Boreal zone of United States and Northern Mexico, 

 in Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and mountains of Arizona, 



Breeding Season : May and June. 



Nest : Bulky ; semi-pensile ; woven of shreds of bark and moss ; lined 

 with hair and feathers ; placed in pine or spruce tree, 15 or 20 feet 

 from ground. 



Eggs : 5 or 6 ; buffy, lightly spotted around larger end with pale brown. 



Although Mr. Grinnell states that the Ruby-crowned 

 Kinglet breeds "in the Boreal on the sierras south to 

 San Jacinto mountains," he does not say, as he might 

 with truth, that it is rare and very hard to find. The 

 nest is hung so high, usually in the branches of a tall 

 spruce, that only an expert climber can hope to peep 

 into one. Such was Mr. H. F. Bailey, of Santa Cruz, 

 who, May 15, 1901, discovered a Kinglet carrying nest- 

 ing material and watched her, although he could not at 

 first see the nest. June 6, three weeks later, he climbed 

 the tree in which he had seen the bird at work, and 

 found the nest thirty feet up and only six or eight feet 

 from the apex. " It was beautifully made, pyriform in 

 shape, with the small end downward, about six inches 

 long, and five inches through at the thickest part. The 

 cup was very deep and the rim very much contracted, 

 inclosing a spherical space with a small opening at the 

 top. The material used in construction was moss, fur, 

 and silky, fibrous substances woven compactly together. 

 The lining was of hair and feathers. Some of these 

 latter were woven into the rim, the stems firmly secured 

 and the free tips curling inward until they met, thus 

 forming a curtain over the contracted opening and com- 

 pletely inclosing the interior. A very warm house was 



