170 
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 
lateral ones nearly equal and free ; hind toe stouter ; claws weak, com- 
pressed. arched, acute. 
Plumage very loose and tufty. Short bristles at the base of the bill. 
Feathers of the head elongated, silky. Wings of ordinary length, the 
third and fourth primaries longest. Tail of twelve feathers, emarginate, 
of ordinary length. 
Bill black, yellow at the base of the lower, and on the edges of the 
upper mandible. Iris light brown. Feet yellowish-brown, the under parts 
yellow. The general colour of the upper parts is dull olivaceous, lighter 
behind. The eye is encircled with greyish-white, of which colour also are 
the tips of the wing-coverts. Quills and tail dusky, edged with greenish- 
yellow. The silky feathers of the crown of the head vermilion. The 
under parts greyish-white. 
Length 4J inches, extent of wings 6 ; bill £ ; tarsus I. 
Adult Female, in summer plumage. 
The female resembles the male, but the tints are in general duller, 
especially the greenish-yellow of the wings. 
The Narrow-leaved Kalmia, or Laurel. 
Kalmia angustifolia, Willd., Sp. PI., vol. ii. p. 601. Pursch , FI. Amer., vol. i. 
p. 296. — Decandria Monogynia, Linn. — Rhododendra, Juss. 
This species is characterized by its petiolate, ternate, cuneato-oblong 
leaves, which are obtuse and tinged with red beneath. The corymbs of 
beautiful deep rose-coloured flowers are lateral; the peduncles and calyx 
downy, and the bracteas smooth. It grows to the height of two or even 
sometimes four feet, and is common in the Northern States and British 
Provinces ; flowers from the end of June to the middle of August. 
