The illustrations entitled A Downy Woodpecker and A Branch Establishment, facing page [88], are from photographs by Mr. Frank M. Chapman and were first printed in Bird-Lore.
EVERYDAY BIRDS
I
TWO LITTLE KINGS
The largest bird in the United States is the California vulture, or condor, which measures from tip to tip of its wings nine feet and a half. At the other end of the scale are the hummingbirds, one kind of which, at least, has wings that are less than an inch and a half in length. Next to these insect-like midgets come the birds which have been well named in Latin “Regulus,” and in English “kinglets,”—that is to say, little kings. The fitness of the title comes first from their tiny size,—the chickadee is almost a giant in comparison,—and next from the fact that they wear patches of bright color (crowns) on their heads.
Two species of kinglets are found at one season or another in nearly all parts of the United States, and are known respectively as the golden-crown—or goldcrest—and the ruby-crown. The golden-crown has on the top of its head an orange or yellow patch (sometimes one, sometimes the other) bordered with black; the ruby-crown wears a very bright red patch, though you may look at many specimens without finding it. Only part of the birds have it,—the adult males, perhaps,—and even those that have it do not always display it. The orange or yellow of the goldcrest, on the other hand, is worn by all the birds, and is never concealed. If you are a beginner in bird study, uncertain of your species, look for the black stripes on the crown. If they are not there, and the bird is really a kinglet, it must be a ruby-crown. You may know it, also,—from the goldcrest, I mean,—by what looks like a light-colored ring round the eye. In fact, one of the ruby-crown’s most noticeable peculiarities is a certain bareheaded, large-eyed appearance.
Unless your home is near or beyond the northern boundary of the United States, you need not look for either kinglet in summer. The ruby-crown is to be seen during its migrations in spring and fall, the goldcrest in fall, winter, and spring.
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET
1. Male. 2. Female
At any time of the year they are well worth knowing. Nobody could look at them without admiration; so pretty, so tiny, and so exceedingly quick and graceful in their motions. Both species are of a prevailing greenish or olive shade, with noticeable light-colored wing-bars, and light, unstreaked, unspotted under parts.