86 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 



fell on the long expectant ear, and my friend, no longer 

 doubting, listened in amazement and delight. This 

 glen, always charming, will henceforth have a new 

 attraction, for unless prevented by some mishap, the 

 bird will be sure to return to this locality, as the Avrens 

 are possessed with feelings of strong local attachment. 



The golden-crowned wrens {Regulus satrapa) and the 

 ruby-crowned {R. calenduhis), although called wrens, 

 belong to the sylvidse family, only sparingly represented 

 in the State, but abundant in the old world, where they 

 have entered much into the quaint legendary literature 

 in some of the countries. 



The two common species, generally called kinglets, 

 are very small creatures, weighing only the fraction of 

 an ounce each, and, like their cousins, they are bright, 

 active and quite musical. His plumage is rich and 

 marked, olive above, lighter underneath, wings well 

 barred with white and edged with yellow. The bill 

 and feet are dark. The two species resemble each other 

 very closely, except the markings on the head, from 

 which they derive their names. 



The ruby-crowned has a patch of scarlet on the head, 

 sometimes almost concealed by other feathers. 



The golden-crowned has a bright scarlet patch 

 bounded by yellow, giving the pretty creature a jaunty 

 military air. 



During the migrations the two species are very 

 abundant here; they come early, generally before the 

 leaves start to open, and often remain several days, a 

 few even spending the summer here in favored woods ; 



