Green, Greenish Gray, Olive, and Yellowish Olive Birds 



A trifle larger than the golden-crowned kinglet, with a ver- 

 milion crest instead of a yellow and flame one, and with a decided 

 preference for a warmer winter climate, and the ruby-crown's chief 

 distinguishing characteristics are told. These rather confusing 

 relatives would be less puzzling if it were the habit of either to 

 keep quiet long enough to focus the opera-glasses on their 

 crowns, which it only rarely is while some particularly promising 

 haunt of insects that lurk beneath the rough bark of the ever- 

 greens has to be thoroughly explored. At all other times both 

 kinglets keep up an incessant fluttering and twinkling among 

 the twigs and leaves at the ends of the branches, jerking their 

 tiny bodies from twig to twig in the shrubbery, hanging head 

 downward, like a nuthatch, and most industriously feeding every 

 second upon the tiny insects and larvae hidden beneath the bark 

 and leaves. They seem to be the feathered expression of perpet- 

 ual motion. And how dainty and charming these tiny sprites 

 are! They are not at all shy; you may approach them quite 

 close if you will, for the birds are simply too intent on their busi- 

 ness to be concerned with yours. 



If a sharp lookout be kept for these ruby-crowned migrants, 

 that too often slip away to the south before we know they have 

 come, we notice that they appear about a fortnight ahead of the 

 golden-crested species, since the mild, soft air of our Indian sum- 

 mer is exactly to their liking. At this season there is nothing in 

 the bird's "thin, metallic call-note, like a vibrating wire," to 

 indicate that he is one of our finest songsters. But listen for him 

 during the spring migration, when a love-song is already ripen- 

 ing in his tiny throat. What a volume of rich, lyrical melody 

 pours from the Norway spruce, where the little musician is simply 

 practising to perfect the richer, fuller song that he sings to his 

 nesting mate in the far north ! The volume is really tremendous, 

 coming from so tiny a throat Those who have heard it in 

 northern Canada describe it as a flute-like and mellow warble 

 full of intricate phrases past the imitating. Dr. Coues says of it: 

 " The kinglet's exquisite vocalization defies description." 



Curiously enough, the nest of this bird, that is not at all rare, 

 has been discovered only six times. It would appear to be over- 

 large for the tiny bird, until we remember that kinglets are wont 

 to have a numerous progeny in their pensile, globular home. It 

 is made of light, flimsy material moss, strips of bark, and plant- 



173 



