Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME II.
GENUS I.--REGULUS, Cuv. KINGLET.
Bill short, straight, very slender, a little broader than high at the base,
compressed toward the end; upper mandible nearly straight in its dorsal outline,
the edges slightly notched, the tip a little declinate, acute; lower mandible
with its outline ascending, nearly straight, the tip acute. Nostrils basal,
elliptical, concealed by the reversed feathers. Head large, broadly ovate; neck
short; body short. Legs rather long; tarsus slender, longer than the middle
toe, much compressed, scutella blended, excepting the lower four toes, rather
small, much compressed, hind toe large; lateral equal; claws rather long,
arched, much compressed, acute. Plumage very loose and full. Short bristles at
the base of the bill. Feathers of the head elongated and silky in the adults.
Wings of ordinary length, with the first quill very small, the fourth and fifth
longest. Tail of ordinary length, emarginate.