THE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 
Tue Golden-crowned Kinglet is, next to the Humming-bird, 
almost our smallest bird, and it frequents thick evergreens so con- 
tinually that it is rarely seen. There is little in its voice and habits 
to attract attention, and its activity and restlessness are so constant 
that we rarely catch sight of the bit of color which it possesses, — 
the crown which the little king carries. But if we train our ear 
so that it catches every fine natural sound, no matter how trifling, 
we become aware some crisp winter day of a thin see, see, see, often 
repeated from some hedge, or group of orchard trees. If we watch, 
our eye will catch sight of one or two tiny creatures, flitting restlessly 
among the twigs, keeping their wings in almost constant motion, 
even when not actually flying. The general color of the bird is a 
shade known in the books as olivaceous, but the effect outdoors and 
at a distance is a dark gray; across the wings there are little whitish 
bars, and over the head dark lines enclose the little crown, — yellow 
in the female, orange in the male. 
If we succeed in attracting the Chickadees to our trees, by tying 
up bones, the Kinglets often come in their company, but their little 
bills are too weak to pick at the frozen gristle, and they merely glean 
from the twigs and buds. The little scale insects, the eggs of moths 
and spiders, all manner of minute objects, are detected by their sharp 
eyes and seized by their skillful little bills and tongues. At night, 
the band retires to some thick evergreen hedge or grove, ready the 
next morning to resume their busy rounds. In April, the male is 
moved to utter a simple little song, and by the end of the month 
35 
