2/2 THE SITKAN KINGLET. 



holes in the shell \\ Inch he ci units a sulhcieiU exit, lii cnlor they were pure 

 white, flushed with the peculiar riukly of fresli eggs having semi-transparent 

 shells, with a pale broad band of brownish dust about fhe larger ends (the 

 smaller one in one case). 



When I had descended, — singing and whistling right merrily snatches of 

 songs once popular, "Sweet Marie," and the like, for my spirits were uncom- 

 mon high, — the mtJther-bird returned to the nesting tree and haunted the site 

 of the ruined home persistentl)-. h'irst she peered down from the branch 

 above; then she dropped dov^ii to the branch below, and craned her head, 

 sorely perplexed. She lighted upon the white stump of the severed limb and 

 examined it confusedly, then she fluttered in midair precisely where the nest 

 ought to have been, and dropped to the limb below again in despair. This 

 mystified quest she repeated over and over again until it wrung the hearts of 

 the beholders. Well, well ; we are inconsistent creatures, we humans. And 

 somehow the comfortable philosophy of the bird-iiester fails at these critical 

 points. 



No. 105. 



SITKAN KINGLET. 



A. O. U. No. 749 a. Regains calendula grinnelli Palmer. 



Synonyms. — Al.'\sk.\n Kinglet. Sitk.\ Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Grin- 

 nf.ll's KiNr,i.i':T. 



Description. — L,ike preceding but of much darker coloration, — a "saturated" 

 form ; also wing somewhat shorter, bill larger, etc. Av. measurements of male* : 

 wing 2.23 (56.6) : tail 1.69 (42.9) ; bill .34 (8.7) ; tarsus .72 ( 18.1 ). 



Recognition Marks. — Of strikingly darker coloration than R. calendula — 

 sup])Osed to be the exclusive form in winter. 



Nesting. — As ])receding. Does not breed in \\'asliingtoii. 



General Range. — Pacific Coast district breeding from British Columbia to 

 head of l.ynn Canal and Yakutat Bay, Alaska; south in winter (at least) to 

 midille California. 



Range in Washington. — Early spring and late fall migrant, common winter 

 resident on Puget Sound. 



Authorities. — ? Rcguhis calendula, I^icht. Cooper and Suckley. Rep. Pac. 

 R. R. Siirv. Xri. pt. II. i860, p. 174 (Winter resident on Puget Sound ). Bowles, 

 Auk, Vol. XXIII. Apr. 1906, p. 148. 



Specimens.— B. E. P(A). 



SO far as our somewhat scanty observation goes, this would appear to 

 be the prevailing form in the earlier spring migrations, and the only one found 

 in winter u]ion Puget Sound. Thus, while the lighter-colored birds, which 



a. Ridgway: Six specimens. 



