i888.J Brewster on the Golden-crested Kinglet. 343 



repeated almost incessantly dozens of times in succession. 

 Should it prove to be, as seems probable, an invariable and char- 

 acteristic accompaniment to the operation of nest-building its 

 value as a clue to the neighborhood of the nest and the presence 

 of the female is worth bearing in mind. Besides the song* both 

 birds uttered frequently a low //, //, ti which seemed to serve as 

 a call to indicate one another's presence or position. 



In each instance the sitting female left her eggs as soon as the 

 movements of the climber began to shake the tree, but when he 

 neared the nest she with her mate showed the utmost anxiety and 

 boldness, approaching within a few feet of his head and uttering 

 the tzee-tzee-tzee note incessantly. 



To conclude, the nests above described are, I believe, the 

 first that have ever been taken in Massachusetts, although my 

 finding the brood of young birds at Winchendon in 18S7 was, of 

 course, prior and equally conclusive proof that the species breeds 

 within our limits. That it breeds regularly at Winchendon is 

 highly probable, but, as already stated, there are reasons for 

 doubting that it is always as common there as it was in 1888. 

 About July I of this latter year, it was discovered by Mr. Faxon 

 in considerable numbers, and unquestionably breeding, on the 

 northern side of Mt. Graylock in Berkshire County where I 

 searched for it vainly in 1885 although, to be sure, I did not 

 visit the particular part of that mountain where it has since been 

 found. Hence my failure to meet with it affords no proof of its 

 absence or even rarity there in 1885. Nevertheless I cannot 

 help thinking that the number of birds which nested the past 

 season in both Berkshire and Worcester Counties may have been 

 exceptional. 



Another point worth considering is the approximate date at 

 which this Kinglet may be assumed to nest. The fact that the 

 nest found by Mr. Minotf among the White Mountains of New 

 Hampshire in 1876 contained young as late as July i6, taken in 

 connection with my observations in 1888, would seem to indi- 

 cate that the bird is a late breeder and that somewhere between 



* This begins with a succession of five or six fine, shrill, high-pitched, somewhat 

 faltering notes and ends with a short, rapid, rather explosive warble. The opening 

 notes are given in a rising key but the song falls rapidly at the end. The whole may 

 be expressed as follows : tzee, tzee, tzee, tzee, ti, ti, ter-ti-ti-ti-ti. 



t Land and Game Birds of New England, p. 56. 



