Ruby-crowned Wren, Sylvia calendula, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 83. pl. 5. fig 3.—Nuttall, Manual, part i. p. 415.
Adult Male, in summer plumage. Plate CXCV. Fig. 1.
Bill short, straight, subulate, very slender, compressed, with inflected edges; upper mandible nearly straight in its dorsal outline, the edges scarcely notched close upon the slightly declinate acute tip; lower mandible straight, acute. Nostrils basal, elliptical, half-closed above by a membrane, covered over by the feathers. The whole form is slender, although the bird looks somewhat bulky, on account of the loose texture of the feathers. Legs rather long; tarsus slender; longer than the middle toe, much compressed, covered anteriorly with a few indistinct scutella; toes scutellate above, the lateral ones nearly equal and free; hind toe stouter; claws weak, compressed, 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 4¼ inches, extent of wings 6; bill ⅓; tarsus ¾.
Adult Female, in summer plumage. Plate CXCV. Fig. 2.
The female resembles the male, but the tints are in general duller, especially the greenish-yellow of the wings.