Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-01-22
This and That
BIZ Charles E. TraceUeU
CHEVY CHASE, Md.

please help me identify bird that has
aroused my curiosity considerably, as don't
seem to find him in any of my bird books. 1t
is a very tiny little thing; body about the size
of a, chickadee but bunchier, and a short,
stubby tail; in all it is shaped more like a
nuthatch only considerably smaller. 1t is a
very definite olive green on the back, light
underneath and with wing bars.
1--WE never seen 1t at the feeder but it doesn't
seem to be shy about coming close to the
house and persists in fiuttering around and
under the caves as If looking for something.
It has been here all winter but never see
it in the company of any other bird-always
alone, and always moving-it never seems to
be still.
Correction: did, just once, see 1t in the
company of what assumed to be a golden
kinglet and I wonder If 1t might be the female
of that species, as it is about the same size
and shape, although OF an entirely different
color.
II enjoy reading your column very much
and I particularly like your attitude on the
bird VS.. cat question. 1t always seems like
such fruitless argument, for cats are cats and
birds are birds-and will ever be.
Sincerely, E. H. D."
Here are the kinglets again.
They always excite interest. Two species
come here, the ruby crowned and the golden
crowned. They are, with the winter wren and
the hulnmingbird the smallest of our birds.
The golden-crowned kinglet is olive-green
above, grayisb- white below, tail short; the side
Of the head with prominent black and white
lines above the eye.
The ruby crowned has the side of the head
plain, no lines, but eye encircled by thin
white ring.
Kinglets and gnatcatchers belong to the
same family. They may properly be called
sylvids or forest birds.
In size, our smallest bird is the ruby
throated hummer, next comes the golden
crowned kinglet then the winter wren, then
the ruby-crowned kinglet, slightly larger, and
then the blue-gray gnatcatcher. This latter Is
an exquisite bird, as, indeed, are all those just
named.
The golden-crowned knglet is given many
other names, including goldcrest, golden
crested wren ard f1ery-crowned wren 1t Is,
of course, not wren at all. This is another
example of how wrong popular naming can be.
The golden crown is chunky for such a
small thing, though smaller than practically
all the warblers The yellow crown is con-
cealed by feathers, in most cases, and is seen
only occasionally.
A field description goes as follows: Male:
Upper parts olwe-green, tail darker, wings
same with two white bars. Crown patch a
golden or orange-yellow bordered by black;
below this, a line over the eye, white. Bill
short, sharp, fine. Under parts, grayish-
WQlUS. relIldlS. SlOWIl pdICIl leuOu ycllOW
1t should be noted that this slight difference
in the crown patch is the only difference be-
tween appearance of male and female. In the
male, the crown patch is more golden, or
orange, while in the female it is canary yellow.
1t MAY be realized that observers may have DIFF
ferent ideas as to what constitutes orange
and what yellow"
Fitting of the wings is held as a charac-
teristic, along with its preference for shrub
berry near the house in winter, and its peculiar
way of suddenly turning over beneath leaf,
giving a real disappearance act.
The ruby-crowned kinglet Is variously called
the ruby-crown, ruby-crowned warbler, ruby
crowned wren both Of the latter n1isnomers.
This one is similar to the golden-crowned.
but with the sides of the head without stripes,
and the eye encircled with thin but plainly
visible white ring. Since the crown patch Of
ruby is seldom seen in the male, and the fe-
male lacks it entirely it may be realized
that this will be no marker either way.
These birds have a quality of feather that
strikes the neholder as putting them in a class
by themselves The birds seem made of porce-
lain, rather than of feathers and flesh. They
do not seem real in other words, they are so
delicate and beautiful in appearance; but no
kind-hearted person should fear for them IN
the cold, for they can weather the coolest
storms and come out as beautiful as ever.
The goldenscrowned Is 4O7 inches long, the
ruby crowned AL inches, 50 II both were seen
together the largest would be the ruby Grown.