THE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 



The Golden-crowned Kinglet is, next to the Humming-bird, 

 almost our smallest bird, and it frequents thick evergreens so con- 

 tinually that it is rarely seen. There is little in its voice and habits 

 to attract . attention, and its activity and restlessness are so constant 

 that we rarely catch sight of the bit of color which it possesses, — 

 the crown which the little king carries. But if we train our ear 

 so that it catches every fine natural sound, no matter how trifling, 

 we become aware some crisp winter day of a thin see, see, see, often 

 repeated from some hedge, or group of orchard trees. If we watch, 

 our eye will catch sight of one or two tiny creatures, flitting restlessly 

 among the twigs, keeping their wings in almost constant motion, 

 even when not actually flying. The general color of the bird is a 

 shade known in the books as olivaceous, but the effect outdoors and 

 at a distance is a dark gray; across the wings there are little whitish 

 bars, and over the head dark lines enclose the little crown, — yellow 

 in the female, orange in the male. 



If we succeed in attracting the Chickadees to our trees, by tying 

 up bones, the Kinglets often come in their company, but their little 

 bills are too weak to pick at the frozen gristle, and they merely glean 

 from the twigs and buds. The little scale insects, the eggs of moths 

 and spiders, all manner of minute objects, are detected by their sharp 

 eyes and seized by their skillful little bills and tongues. At night, 

 the band retires to some thick evergreen hedge or grove, ready the 

 next morning to resume their busy rounds. In April, the male is 

 moved to utter a simple little song, and by the end of the month 



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