Birds of Indiana. 1141 



Creepers in such numbers as I never saw before. They were every- 

 where — in woods, thickets, orchards and dooryards — and all in full 

 song. 



Spring migrants were noted at Greensburg, March 21, 1894; Rich- 

 mond, March 26, 1897; Laporte, March 23, 1893; Chicago, 111., March 



23, 1894. Usually they reach northern Indiana about April 1, and 

 leave between the middle and last of the month. The latest spring 

 records at hand are: Brookville, April 24, 1884; Greensburg, April 



24, 1895; Richmond, April 27, 1897; Lafayette, April 29, 1893; Chi- 

 cago, Hi., May 5, 1894, and Miss H. E. Colfax observed it in Porter 

 County, June 8, 1884. Their food is entirely insects. Many of these 

 it takes on the fly, and others are obtained al)out the trunks and limbs 

 of trees. They are full of energy, which is utilized from dawn till 

 dark. They put in full time and are all the time doing useful work. 

 "Of 9 specimens examined, 2 had eaten 12 small diptera (flies etc.); 3, 

 9 small beetles; 1, 5 caterpillars; 1, a small chrysalid; and 3, very small 

 insects, too fine to be identified" (King, Geol. of Wis., I., p. 482). 



312. (749). Regulus calendula (Linn.). 



Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 



Adult Male. — Above, olive-green, brighter on the rump; crown, with 

 a patch of vermillion-red in the center; no black stripes on each side; 

 below, dull whitish. Adult Female. — Similar, but with crown patch 

 smaller or wanting. Immature. — Similar, but with no crown patch. 



Length, 3.75-4.60; wing, 2.20-2.30; tail, 1.85-1.90. 



Range. — North America, from Mexico (Valley of Mexico) north to 

 the limit of trees within the Arctic Circle. Breeds from Colorado, in 

 the higher mountains, and Oregon, northern Michigan and Quebec, 

 northward. Winters from southern Illinois, South Carolina and 

 Texas, south. 



Nest, in evergreen, 10 to 20 feet up, semi-pensile, quite bulky; of 

 bark, moss, weed fibres, spider webs, lined with feathers. Eggs, 8; 

 dirty cream-color, darker sometimes, faintly spotted at the larger end; 

 .55 by .43. 



The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a common migrant, as a rule, arriving 

 and remaining later than the last species in the spring and arriving 

 and departing earlier than in the fall. However, in the fall, they occur 

 together, and more frequently associated than in the spring, and the 

 difference in time is not so much noted. In the southern part of the 

 State they are very rare winter residents. They have been noted, in 

 winter, in Monroe County by Profs. Evermann and Blatchley. This 



