Stay yet, my friends, a moment stay—
Stay till the good old year,
So long companion of our way,
Shakes hands and leaves us here.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One little hour, and then away.
The year, whose hopes were high and strong,
Has now no hopes to wake;
Yet one hour more of jest and song
For his familiar sake.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One mirthful hour, and then away.
The kindly year, his liberal hands
Have lavished all his store.
And shall we turn from where he stands,
Because he gives no more?
Oh stay, oh stay,
One grateful hour, and then away.
Days brightly came and calmly went,
While yet he was our guest;
How cheerfully the week was spent!
How sweet the seventh day’s rest!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One golden hour, and then away.
Even while we sing he smiles his last,
And leaves our sphere behind.
The good old year is with the past;
Oh be the new as kind!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One parting strain, and then away.
—William Cullen Bryant.
THE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET.
(_Regulus satrapa._)
The autumn wanes, and kinglets go,
Sweet-voiced and knightly in their way,
And all the birds our summers know,
They flock and leave us day by day.
—Frank H. Sweet, “Flocking of the Birds.”
In these pleasing words the poet speaks of the kinglets. Yet his words
may hardly apply to the Golden-crowned Kinglet, except in the
northernmost part of its range, for it winters from the northern border
of the United States southward to the Gulf of Mexico. “Muffled in its
thick coat of feathers, the diminutive Goldcrest braves our severest
winters, living evidence that, given an abundance of food, temperature
is a secondary factor in a bird’s existence.”
But little larger than a hummingbird, though unlike that mite of bird
life, it seeks in the cooler air of northern climes a place for its
nest. It also breeds throughout the length of the Rocky Mountains and in
the Alleghanies as far south as North Carolina.
This tiny and “charming sylvan ornament,” both elegant in dress and
graceful in movement, is one of the seven known species of kinglets, of
which there are but three that frequent the New World. It is very active
while searching for its food. Its colors are such that, as it moves from
twig to twig hunting for insects among the leaves, it is frequently hard
to locate though its voice may be heard among the tree tops.
Truly the name kinglet—little king—is not a misnomer, for the
Golden-crown exhibits a decided character in every motion. It is
fearless and though it will occasionally scold an intruder, wren-like,
it does not visually resent the presence of man. Often in the forest or
even in our city parks a Golden-crowned Kinglet will flash by one’s face
and, dropping to the ground, seize an insect or worm that its bright
eyes have detected in the grass, even at one’s feet.
Speaking of interesting phases of bird life, Mr. Keyser says, “On the
same day my dancing dot in feathers, the Golden-crowned Kinglet,
performed one of his favorite tricks, which is not often described in
the books. You will remember that in the center of the yellow
crown-patch of the males, there is a gleaming golden speck, visible only
when you look at him closely. But when the little beau is in a
particularly rollicksome mood, or wants to display his gem to his mate
or kindred, he elevates and spreads out the feathers of his crest, and
lo! a transformation. The whole crown becomes golden! That gleaming
speck expands until it completely hides the yellow and black of the
crown.” May we not say with Mr. and Mrs. Grinnell that Mr. Golden-crown
lifts his hat to Mrs. Golden-crown? We may learn patience and to be
satisfied with nature as we find it, if we will study the life of the
Golden-crown. It is always happy, always cheerful. Seemingly it flies
from bough to bough as contentedly in the rain as in the sunshine and in
cold as well as in warm weather. In many respects this kinglet resembles
the warblers, but it is much tamer. While seeking its food it exhibits
some of the characteristics of the flycatchers.
Mr. Brewster describes its song as beginning “with a succession of five
or six fine, shrill, high-pitched, somewhat faltering notes, and ending
with a short, rapid, rather explosive warble. The opening notes are
given in a rising key, but the song falls rapidly at the end. The whole
may be expressed as follows: Tzee, tzee, tzee, tzee, ti, ti, ter,
ti-ti-ti-ti.” Its call note is simply ti-ti uttered in a fine and well
modulated voice that is scarcely audible.
[Illustration: GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET.
(Regulus satrapa.)
Life-size.
FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.]
The Golden-crown selects cone-bearing trees for its nest. This is
usually a pensil structure and is hung from the branches at from four to
fifty or more feet from the ground. It is globular in form with the
entrance near the top. Mosses and dead leaves are used in its
construction and it is lined with soft and fine fibers of bark and
feathers.
Someone has said of a Golden-crowned Kinglet: “I often spoke to him as
if he were a real person; and he appreciated my words of praise, too,
without doubt, for he would come scurrying near, disporting his head so
that I could catch the gleam of his amber coronal, with its golden patch
for a center piece.”