334 
PASSERIFORMES 
This is a bird of the large tree forests where it usually lives and builds 
high up among the tree tops. As it is only regularly found in southern 
Ontario along western Lake Erie and has been taken elsewhere in Canada 
only occasionally, it must be regarded as a rare bird in the Dominion. 
Economic Status. Too rare in Canada to be economically considered. 
Subfamily — Regulinae. Kinglets 
General Description. The Kinglets are, next to the rare Bush Tit and the humming- 
birds, the smallest of Canadian birds. They are wren-like in their short, round bodies, 
but more like chickadees in their habits and actions. Their colours are dull olive-green, 
lighter below, and they have small, brilliantly coloured crown-spots of red, orange, or 
yellow. The bill is small and straight, similar to but not as stout as that of the chickadees 
(Plate LX B, compare with Plate LI). 
Distinctions. The kinglets might be mistaken for some of the dull, evenly coloured 
warblers, but as all plumages except the female and juvenile Ruby-crowned have brilliant 
crown patches, this will usually prevent confusion, and size should do so in any event. 
Field Marks. Dull greenish coloration, chickadee-like restlessness, and custom of 
hanging head downward from pendant sprays are characteristic. Their fine, sharp con- 
versational “ Tsee-tsee-lsee’s ” soon become familiar and are easily recognized. 
748. Golden-crowned Kinglet, golden-crested wren, goldcrest, le roite- 
let k couronne doree. Regulus satrapa. L, 4-07. Plate LX B. Diminutive birds, 
yellowish green above, dull white below. Crown black with large central spot of lemon- 
yellow or lemon-yellow and orange. Face showdng prominent white eyebrow-line against 
black edge of crown. Juveniles have the characteristic face mark, but are without coloured 
spot on crown. 
Distinctions. The two kinglets, so nearly alike in size and general coloration, can 
generally be easily separated by the colours of the crowns. When crown-spots are absent 
the presence of the white eyebrow and black crown streaks on the face are distinctive. 
Field Marks. Very small, chickadee-like birds, often in flocks flitting in and out of 
the foliage, sometimes up high in the largest trees. Dull, even greenish coloration. The 
yellow or yellow and orange crown-spots and the black and white eyebrow-lines are the 
best field marks for the species. 
Nesting. Generally in coniferous trees. Nest pensile, of green mosses, lined ’with 
fine strips of soft inner bark, fine rootlets, and feathers. 
Distribution. Northern North America. In Canada, across the Dominion, north to 
Lake Athabaska and northern British Columbia; rare in the mid-prairie parts. 
SUBSPECIES. The Eastern Golden-crowned Kinglet (le Roitelet A couronne 
dor6e de FEst) Regulus satrapa satrapa extends west probably to the mountains. In British 
Columbia and the adjacent mountain slopes in Alberta occurs the Western Golden-crowned 
(le Roitelet k couronne dor6e de l’Ouest) Regulus satrapa olivaceus, showing a slightly 
intenser green above. 
After long, birdless hunting, one may often be surrounded by a large 
flock of these feathered mites, flitting in and out of the dense foliage and 
darting hither and thither so restlessly as to make it difficult to see distinc- 
tive points. They seem indifferent to the observer’s presence and yet more 
or less attracted to it. Some hang head downward from a swaying bunch of 
twigs, without regard to horizontal or perpendicular, as they gravely 
investigate the under surfaces for succulent morsels, and others work in 
and out on the trunks and branches surveying every crevice with micro- 
scopic eye and keeping up a continual interchange of fine, sharp u Tse - 
tse-tse’s For a minute the observer is kept looking this way and that, 
hardly getting his eye on a bird before his attention is distracted to the next 
in a most disconcerting manner. Suddenly the confusion grow T s less, the 
foliage is empty — the happy crowd has worked away. 
