266 



THE WESTERN GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. 



color froni i)urc wliile t(j sin'dul white ami ikisk\- hrcjwn. In ihe last two cases 

 the tint niav Ije due tci a profusion of line liruwii ilots, nr to advancement in 

 incubation, the shell being so thin that the |)rogressi\'e stages of the cliick's 

 development are dimly shadowed thru it. 



The female Kinglet is a close sitter and will not often lea\'e the nest until 

 the containing branch is sharply tapped. Then, invariably, she drops down a 

 couple of feet and flits sharply sidewise, with manifest intent to deceive the 

 laggard eye. Yet almost immediateh- she is minded to return, and will do so 

 if there is no further demonstration oi hostilities. Re-covering the eggs is not 

 always an easy matter, for the well is deep and the mouth narrow. One dame 

 lightetl on the l.)rim of her nest ami bowed and scraped and stamped, precisely 

 as a carefullv disciplined husband will when he brings muddy boots to the 

 kitchen door. The operation was evidently cjuite unconnected with hesitation 

 in view of m\' presence. Init in some way was preparatory to her sinking 

 carefully into the feather-lined pit bef(5re her. When she first covered the 

 eogs, also, there was a great fuss made in settlinsi', as tho to free her feathers 

 from the engaging edges of the nest. When the 1)ird is well down ii])on her 

 eggs there is nothing visible l)nt the top (}f her head and the tip of her tail. 

 The male bird, meanwhile, is not indifferent. First he bustles up onto 

 the nesting branch ami flashes his fiery crest in plain token of anger, l)ut 



later he is content 

 to squeak disapprov- 

 al fi"(_~)ni a ]>ositicin 

 more removed. 



W'hile the mother 

 liird is sitting, the 

 male tends her faith- 

 fullv, but he spends 

 his spare moments, 

 according to Mr. 

 Bowdes, in construct- 

 ing "cock nests," or 

 decoys, in the neigh- 

 boring trees. Tliese 

 seem to serve no pur- 

 pose beyond that of 

 a ner\-ous relief to 

 are seldom as carefullv constructed as the \"eritable 



Taken near Tacoma. 

 Photo by the Authors. 



NID - .\ID - iXODDING. 



the impatient father, ;md 

 domus. 



When the young of the first lirood are hatched and ready to fl}', the 

 chief care of them falls to the father, while the female prepares for a second 

 nesting. As to the further domestic relations one cannot speak with certainty, 



