80 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



woods, but more noticeably in late afternoon and early 

 evening, when many other birds are silent. After the song 

 ceases, one may still hear in the darkness a pip pip 

 pip pip, which serves also as the alarm-note with which 

 breeding birds greet an intruder. In August the Wood 

 Thrush and the Veery become silent, and are seldom seen ; 

 they slip southward almost unnoticed. 



This is the largest of our true brown thrushes. (The 

 Brown Thrush, so-called, is the Thrasher ; see p. 95.) It is 

 the most heavily spotted, not only on the breast, but also on the 

 flanks ; is tawny on the head and upper hack, and olive-brown 

 on the tail. For a suggestion of the difference between the 

 song of this species and that of the Hermit Thrush, see p. 75. 



KINGLETS : FAMILY SYLVIID.ai 



RuBY-CKOWNED KiNGLET. Regulus calendula 

 4.41 



Ad. $. — Upper parts gray, with a greenish tinge in strong 

 light; crown with a partially concealed patch of flame-colored 

 feathers ; wing-bars whitish ; under parts dull whitish. Ad. 9 • — 

 Lacks the crown-patch. 



Nest and E^gs as in the following species. 



The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a rather common migrant 

 through New York and New England, in April, and again 

 in October. It probably breeds sparingly in eastern Maine, 

 but in the rest of New England it is unknown in summer. 

 In the migrations it frequents the edges of woodland, or pas- 

 tures overgrown with bushes and small trees. Like its rela- 

 tive the Golden-crowned Kinglet, it is often found in ever- 

 greens, either red cedar groves or the spruces in plantations. 

 Its feeding habits are similar to its relative's. It inspects 

 the twigs with restless activity, frequently flitting its wings. 



The harsh, grating call-note of the Ruby-crowned King- 



