48 Land Birds of New England 



FAMILY SYLVIID^J 



7. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 



{Reg ulus ca I en dula . ) 



Upper parts greenish olive ; wings and tail dusky, edged with yel- 

 lowish ; wing with two whitish bars ; under parts grayish or 

 yellowish white. Crown with rich scarlet patch, which is 

 wanting in the female. Bill slender and black ; feet black. 

 One of our smallest birds ; about two-thirds as long as a 

 sparrow. 



THIS exquisite little creature abounds in wooded 

 regions, in parks and gardens which contain cone- 

 bearing trees. It associates in troops with chicka- 

 dees and golden-crowned kinglets ; but it merely 

 passes through this region of the country on its way 

 to and from its northern breeding grounds. It is 

 here from mid-April to early May, and again from 

 early October to mid-November. It is said to fre- 

 quent in the spring chiefly the tops of trees, and in 

 the fall the lower branches. 



Breeding probably takes place in the extreme 

 northern part of New Hampshire and Vermont, in 

 the regions to the north of this, and also in the 

 mountains somewhat farther south. The few nests 

 which have been discovered have been found in 



