CHICKADEES AND KINGLETS. 89 



In summer the tufted tit feeds largely on insects, as grasshoppers, 

 beetles, cutworms, and caterpillars. In winter it consumes, in addi- 

 tion to insects, a considerable quantity of vegetable food, such as 

 beechnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, chinquapins, and the berries of the 

 dogwood, Virginia creeper, and other wild fruits. 



Carolina Chickadee. Penthestes carolinensis. 



The chickadee is a common bird in nearly all parts of the State, 

 remaining throughout the year. It is much smaller than its relative, 

 the tufted tit, with which it is often found associated, especially in 

 winter. It has been reported from Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Clin- 

 ton, and Helena. I found it common at Turrell, Wilmot, Womble, 

 Rich Mountain, Cotter, and Mammoth Spring. Hanna collected 16 

 specimens at Van Buren in November and December. The chick- 

 adee is a dweller in both forest and orchard, and is everywhere a valu- 

 able aid to the farmer. It destroys large numbers of noxious insects, 

 among them the tent caterpillar, various beetles, and the eggs, larvae, 

 and chrysalids of moths. About one- third of its food is of vegetable 

 origin, and includes small seeds, the pulp of wild fruit, and wild 

 berries. 



Golden-crowned Kinglet. Regulus satrapa. 



This tiny bird, but little larger than a humming bird, is a dweller 

 in the Boreal zone in summer, but in winter is found over most of the 

 eastern United States. Although recorded from only a few localities 

 in Arkansas, it doubtless occurs generally as a migrant and winter 

 resident. H. S. Reynolds records it as wintering at Judsonia, 1 and 

 Hanna found it common at Van Buren in December. Mrs. Stephen- 

 son has observed the species a few times at Helena between March 7 

 and April 25, and Savage saw one bird at Delight on October 23. 



Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Regulus calendula. 



Like its cousin, the goldencrown, this kinglet is a northern breed- 

 ing species and is found in Arkansas only in migration and in winter. 

 It is common at that season in the Sunken Lands (Widmann), and 

 Hanna found it common at Van Buren in December. It has been 

 observed also at Clinton and Helena in January. The spring migra- 

 tion takes place in March and April, and at such times one often hears 

 snatches of its clear sweet song from some thicket in the woods. The 

 last migrants noted at Helena were seen April 29; at Delight it was 

 observed between March 15 and April 25. In the fall the species 

 invades the State during October, having arrived at Delight October 

 8 and become common there by the 20th of that month. 



i Am. Nat., XI, p. 307, 1877. 



