586 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
Family Sylviidae: Warblers, Kinglets 
Subfamily Regulinae: Kinglets 
Golden-crowned Kinglet : Regains satrapa. W. R. 
Plate III Fig. i 
Length: 4 inches. 
Male: Flame-colored crown spot edged with yellow and enclosed by 
black line. Above olive-green and yellowish olive, which is 
more decided on wings, rump, and tail. Under parts yellowish 
gray. Whitish line over eye. Bill and feet black. 
Female: Crown yellow, no flame color or black line. 
Song: A sharp call and a few notes. Mr. Brewster gives them as 
“ Tzee-tzee-tzee-tzee, ti-ti-ter-ti-ti-ti-ti ! ” 
Season: A fairly constant winter resident. 
Nest: Bulky for the size of the bird. A ball of hair, moss, etc., often 
lined with feathers, placed on the high bough of an evergreen. 
Eggs: 6-10, white, thickly speckled. 
The dainty little Golden-crowned Kinglet shares with the 
Winter Wren and Hummingbird the distinction of being one 
of the three smallest birds in the United States. It is ranked 
as a winter resident, for, coming from the north with the 
Ruby-crowned species, it lingers well into the winter, passing 
southward in rigorous seasons, for a time in January and Feb- 
ruary, but returning very early in March en route to its north- 
ern breeding-grounds. 
It has a decided preference for evergreens and searches 
tirelessly by the hour for insects in the rough bark, but it 
is so very small and restless that it may easily escape notice. 
My first discovery of the bird in the garden was in Decem- 
ber, while looking in the spruces for the source of what I 
supposed to be the wiry note of some belated insect. A 
gleam of sunlight shooting through the branches touched 
the flaming crown of the Kinglet, who was quite close and 
eyeing me inquisitively. 
Owing to their hardiness, combined with their activity and 
small size, these Kinglets do a great deal toward the saving of 
both fruit and forest trees by clearing the twigs and buds of 
insects in their daily search for food. 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Regains calendula 
Length: 4-4-5° inches. 
Male: Vermilion spot on crown (which, however, does not always 
appear until the second year). Ash-gray head, back olive-gray, 
yellowish on tail. Wings brownish olive with yellow and white 
