196 Contributions from the Charleston Museum. 



seven . They are white , speckled, spotted , and sometimes blotched 

 with reddish brown and measure .60X.50. On March 31, 1884, 

 I took my first nest and six eggs, which are now in the collection 

 of my friend, Mr. WilHam Brewster. This was the only nest 

 taken in March up to 1903, when on the 23rd of the month I 

 collected a nest and seven heavily incubated eggs, from a hole 

 in a fence post, four feet from the ground. These are now in the 

 collection of my friend, Mr. John Lewis Childs. On April 1, 1903, 

 another set of seven eggs was found in a black gum fence-post. 

 These are the only records I have of seven eggs. The great ma- 

 jority of the birds breed very regularly and full complements of 

 eggs are usually to be found between April 4 and 10. In very 

 backward seasons like 1895, the birds did not have full comple- 

 ments until April 21. I once found a bird of this species dead 

 upon its nest, which contained six fresh eggs, on April 11, 1890, 

 near Yemassee. Only one brood is reared in a season. 



The Carolina Chickadee feeds upon insects, their larvse and 

 eggs, and is very beneficial to the agriculturist and horticulturist. 



FAMILY SYLVIIDiE: WARBLERS, KINGLETS, GNAT- 

 CATCHERS. 



299. Regulus satrapa Licht. Golden-crowned Kinglet. 



The Golden-crowned Kinglet is a winter visitant, arriving by 

 October 15 and remaining until about March 28. My earliest 

 records are October 15, 1896 and October 16, 1900. This di- 

 minutive bird always arrives later in the autumn and departs 

 about four or five weeks earlier in spring than the Ruby-crowned 

 Kinglet. The reason is that the birds are hardy and deUght in 

 very cold weather, being more active and conspicuous than when 

 the weather is mild. Moreover the nearest breeding grounds are 

 less than 300 miles from Charleston — the spruce belt in the moun- 

 tains of North Carolina. 



This species frequents the tops of the tallest forest trees, but 

 at times resorts to the low undergrowth, while it frequently 

 searches for food, during very cold weather, among the roots of 

 fallen trees. At all times this bird seems to be fond of the com- 

 pany of Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and its near relative 

 the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. As early as the beginning of Feb- 

 ruary, the males begin to look forward to the breeding season 

 and constantly raise the feathers of the top of the head in order to 



