464 KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS, ETC. 
color. Length : 3.15-4.55, wing 2.10-2.25, tail 1.60-2.00, exposed culmen 
.25-.30. 
Distribution. — North America generally, breeding in Boreal zone forests 
of the northern parts of the United States northward; migrating to 
Guatemala. 
Nest. — A ball-like mass of green moss attached to end of branch in 
pine or fir; lined with hair and feathers. Eggs: 5 to 10, white or buffy, 
faintly specked, chiefly around larger end, with deeper buffy. 
748a. R. s. olivaceus Baird. Western Golden-crowned 
Kinglet. 
Similar to satrapa , but brighter, crown colors sharper, upper parts 
greener, and under parts more washed with buffy brown. 
Distribution. — Pacific coast region of North America from California 
northward; migrates to Guatemala. 
In the high Sierra one of the notes that you hear most frequently 
from the impenetrable tops of the highest firs comes apparently 
from this bit of a kinglet; and as you crane your neck and strain 
your eyes day after day and week after week in riding under the 
trees in the vain attempt to see him do it, the rolling notes shape 
themselves ungrammatically to your aggravated query, who-be’-you ? 
who-be'-you ? who-be'-you? The call-note of the little fellow seems to 
be a thin ti-ti, quite different from the chatter of the ruby-crowned 
kinglet. 
Fig. 590. 
749. Regulus calendula {Linn.}. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 
Adult male. — Crown patch bright red; upper parts grayish, brightening 
to greenish on rump, and with greenish yellow edges to 
feathers ; wings with two narrow whitish bands ; under parts 
dingy whitish. Adult female and young : similar, but with¬ 
out crown patch. Length: 3.75-4.60, wing 2.20-2.30, tail 
1.85-1.90, bill from nostril .20-.22. 
Distribution. — North America from the arctic coast to Guatemala; 
breeds in Boreal zone chiefly north of the United States, and in the Rocky 
Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and mountains of Arizona ; migrates to Guate¬ 
mala. 
Nest. — Semi-pensile, bulky, made of shreds of bark, feathers, and 
green moss, lined with hair and feathers; attached to end of pine or 
spruce branch, or placed in the top of a small tree, 10 to 20 feet from the 
ground. Eggs: 5 to 9, whitish or buffy, faintly spotted, chiefly around 
larger end, with light brown (sometimes nearly plain). 
The scolding chatter of the ruby-crowned kinglet with the plump 
little figure’s lift of the wing, however far overhead, always tells an 
unmistakable tale. The cheery, busy little chap brings his own wel¬ 
come in the timber, chatting sociably as he hunts with microscopic 
care over the twigs and flutters hummingbird-fashion under the 
green sprays; but when he sings you regard him with a new feel¬ 
ing of wondering admiration, — such a volume of song and such a 
well-modulated, liquid, ringing melody! 
