2 EVERYDAY BIRDS 
The golden-crown has on the top of its head an 
orange or yellow patch (sometimes one, some- 
times the other) bordered with black; the ruby- 
crown wears a very bright red patch, though you 
may look at many specimens without finding it. 
Only part of the birds have it, — the adult males, 
perhaps, — and even those that have it do not 
always display it. The orange or yellow of the 
goldcrest, on the other hand, is worn by all the 
birds, and is never concealed. If you are a be- 
ginner in bird study, uncertain of your species, 
look for the black stripes on the crown. If they 
are not there, and the bird is really a kinglet, it 
must be a ruby-crown. You may know it, also, 
—from the goldcrest, I mean, — by what looks 
like a light-colored ring round the eye. In 
fact, one of the ruby-crown’s most noticeable 
peculiarities is a certain bareheaded, large-eyed 
appearance. 
Unless your home is near or beyond the 
northern boundary of the United States, you 
need not look for either kinglet in summer. 
The ruby-crown is to be seen during its migra- , 
tions in spring and fall, the goldcrest in fall, 
winter, and spring. 
At any time of the year they are well worth 
knowing. Nobody could look at them without 
admiration ; so pretty, so tiny, and so exceed- 
