Kinglets. 



Order, Passeres. 

 Family, Sylviidae. 



74 9. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. Regulus calendula. Four and 

 one-half inches long. Olive above. Wings and tail olive-yellow. White 

 bars on wings. Breast grayish-yellow. Red spot on head of some 

 males. 



748. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. Regulus satrapa. A trifle 

 over four inches long. Similar to the ruby-crowned kinglet except 

 the patch on the head is orange instead of red and it has a white line 

 above the eye. 



RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 



While starting from home this morning (there is always 

 something new to be seen) I saw as many as a dozen tiny king- 

 lets in the elm tree in front of my home. The little acrobats 

 were climbing and darting and falling about the tips of the 

 boughs among the elm flowers taking every tiny bug in sight and 

 it is safe to say not a guilty one escaped. Except the humming 

 birds, we have no smaller birds than they. They are not bigger 

 than a minute but such little bundles of energy you never did 

 see. I walked right up to them to study them for they were too 

 busy to notice me. I looked hard to find the ruby crown which is 

 small at best and wanting in the females, but they did not keep 

 still long enough to give me more than a wee flash, just enough 

 to let me know which kinglet had come to visit me. The English 

 sparrows stood around like a gang of ragmuffins and watched 

 and glared but they made no demonstrations. They stood there 

 like stuffed birds. Bundles of energy themselves I guess they 

 were just paralyzed to see the kinglets work. 



Here to-day, gone to-morrow — you are lucky if you see more 

 than here and there a stray one, but you will be paid for every 

 moment you give them. I wonder how many kinds of birds come 

 in a season to the very tree upon which I saw the kinglets this 



