152 DOTS IN FEATHERS. 



to more northern latitudes where there was winter 

 in reality and not merely in name ? It is an open 

 question. 



Much as I have associated with these birds, I 

 have never had the good fortune to find a nest, for 

 they breed farther north than this latitude ; mostly 

 in the extreme northern part of the United States 

 and northward, though sometimes as far south as 

 Massachusetts. A writer on ornithology says that 

 their nests are " a ball-like mass of green moss, four 

 inches or more in diameter, attached to the ex- 

 tremity of the branch of a pine or fir-tree, lined 

 with hair and soft feathers." Sometimes the nests 

 are pendant, at other times only partly so, and one 

 nest was found in Massachusetts which was fast- 

 ened to twigs above and supported by branches 

 below. The birds are quaint little geniuses, and 

 do not seem to follow any fixed rule in their house- 

 building. 



But it is high time to introduce you to the other 

 member of the family — the ruby -crowned kinglet. 

 It is a little difficult to distinguish between tlie 

 young of these two species, and perhaps only the 

 expert ornithologist is able to do so in every in- 

 stance. However, after the first year there is no 

 difficulty ; the ruby-crow n<^,d has no black or yellow 



