HST. 



83 



Ruby- Crowned Kinglet. 



Found one set of eight slightly incuba^ 

 ted eggs, immaculate, 68x40, 57x43, 54 

 X43, 54x43, 54x43, 53x42, 55x43, 53 

 X 49. Nest on a low pine, in a clearing 

 that had grown up to underbrush, three or 

 four feet from the ground. It was pen- 

 dant (contrary to Dr. Coues' Bds. of Colo. 

 Val.) from the under side of somes mall 

 branches that inclined downward and 

 about four inches from the stem. It is 

 much the shape of a " E. K. lunch station" 

 coffee cup, but longer and flattened at the 

 bottom, mainly of green moss interwoven 

 with the fibrous outer covering of plants. 

 This fibre also holding it to the twigs. A 

 very few fine straws are woven into the 

 lower end. The cavity is quite deep for its 

 •width, lined with soft shreds of burlaps 

 and re-lined with soft feathers. Altogether 

 it is a very soft concern. Outer height 

 6 inches, diameter 4 inches, inner depth 

 2^ inches, diameter If inches. Am sure of 

 its identity, as I stood some time with my 

 face close to the parent on the nest. While 

 I was packing the nest and eggs the pa- 

 rents were hopping about, uttering their 

 loud cherp, cherp, cherp, cherup, that 

 seemed to be of too much force and vol- 

 iime for so tiny a creature. Right here let 

 me make a correction to my mass of mis- 

 takes in the February O. and O. I am not 

 positive of ever seeing but one pair of 

 Tellow-crowned Kinglets anywhere near 

 here. Last year a pair of them ahghted 

 near me while at Murphy, and I took it for 

 granted that they were all Yellow-crowns. 

 This season I have paid considerable atten- 

 tion to the Kinglets, but have failed to see 

 anything hint Ruby-crowns, which are quite 

 numerous in this locality. 



August 1, watched a pair of Kinglets 

 carrying food to their young, and soon dis- 

 covered their nest in the top of a slender 

 pine about forty feet up. Climbed up, but 

 the top was so small it would not bear my 

 weight. So I waited till the young had 



Borne Birds of La Platta Co. Col. With 



Annotations. O.F.Morrison, ' 



"'V'l<''<ral,ndnla (Linn.), Licht. Ruby- 

 :iouii((l Kiiio-let. Common during the migra- 

 tion., but breeds sparingly from 7000 up to | 

 11.000 feet. I have not taken its eggs, but Mr. | 

 Drew has in San Juan County, and as I have ' 

 seen it from the Ifist of May to August, it no 

 , doubt bl eeds. The nest spoken of above was 

 placed in the uppermost branches of a spruce 

 about thirty feet from the ground, in one of 

 1 these dark masses where the corn grows thick- 

 est, and where it would be imposible to see your 

 hat, were it there. The nest was loosely placed 

 among the outer twigs, being partially pens- 

 ile, and was composed of bits of fine bark ex- 

 ternally, and within of silk-weed shreds, moss 

 spiders silk and feathers, all matted together in 

 a compact manner and lined with wool. It con- 

 tained four young and an addled egg, the latter 

 measurmg .014 x .012 mm., white. A descrip- 

 tion „i the nestling plumage I will keep for 

 tuture publication. ^ 



0.& O. XIII. May. 18S8 p. 7 I 



