72 SYLVIID^ : SYLVIANS. 



the whole less numerous than the Golden-crest, with 

 which it freely associates, as it does also with the 

 Chickadees, Nuthatches, Creepers, and various War- 

 blers, in active, restless troops, which roam inces- 

 santly through the foliage. The Ruby-crown has 

 been taken so late in the season, in Connecticut, as to 

 render it not improbable that a few individuals may 

 linger in winter in southern New England. The de- 

 termination of its breeding range is a matter of special 

 interest, which it is hoped may be not much longer 

 delayed. The nest has been found in Colorado, in a 

 spruce, about fifteen feet from the ground ; it was a 

 lovely felted mass of hair and feathers, mixed with 

 moss and some short pieces of straw, and was quite 

 large in comparison with its diminutive owner. It con- 

 tained five young birds and one egg- 



"In autumn and winter," says Mr. Minot, "their 

 only note is a feeble lisp. In the spring, besides occa- 

 sionally uttering an indescribable querulous sound, and 

 a harsh, grating note, which belongs exclusively to 

 that season, the Ruby-crowned Wrens sing extremely 

 well, and louder than such small birds seem capable 

 of singing. Their song commonly begins with a few 

 clear whistles, followed by a short, very sweet, and 

 complicated warble, and ending with notes like the syl- 

 lables hi'-we-we, tu'-Tve-we^ tu'-we-we. These latter 

 are often repeated separately, as if the birds had no 

 time for the prelude, or are sometimes merely pref- 

 aced by a few rather shrill notes with a rising inflec- 

 tion." (B. N. E., 1877, p. 550 





