The Ruby-crowned 
Kinglets 
iAiwSmm 
Taken in Washington ' Photo by the Author 
RUBY’S BASKETFUL 
musical contest provoked in which one is glad to come out second best. 
After all, it is the song rather than the ruby which glorifies the 
Kinglet. Having heard only the preparatory spring song for years, 
it was a matter of great enlightenment to come upon the birds at home 
in the giant larches of northeastern Washington. Here these midgets 
sang not only incessantly but so loudly that they were easily the dominant 
vocal feature of the birdscape. It appears that the full-fledged breeding 
song is quite different from the delicate migratory carol. The prelimi¬ 
nary notes are of much the same quality, but instead of accenting the 
final syllable of the titooreet phrase, and repeating this, the phrase is 
given only once, with a sort of tittering, tremolo effect, and the emphasis 
is thrown upon a series of strong, sharp terminal notes, four or five in 
number, and of a uniform character—the whole somewhat as follows: 
tew tew tew tew titteretteretter reet, cheep' cheep' cheep' cheep'. These em¬ 
phatic notes are also rendered in a detached form at occasional intervals, 
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