Ruby-crowned kinglet • Regulus calendula
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Ruby-crowned kinglets in Sitka spruce tree. Top: a glimpse of the red crown can be seen in this picture. Photo by Mike Yip. Bottom: while the red crown patch is hidden, the white eyering and wingbar are clearly visible. Photo by Brian Starzomski.
Identification
The ruby-crowned kinglet is a tiny olive-green songbird, with a relatively large head and rounded body. The male has a ruby-red crown patch, however this useful identification feature is usually kept hidden. Other key ID characteristics are a white eyering, a contrasting pair of white and black wingbars on darker wings, and a tendency to constantly flick its wings. Its small size (9-11 cm long) and compact shape as well as its general energetic, acrobatic nature can also aid in identification. It has a chattering, musical song that is surprisingly loud for the bird's tiny size.
Habitat & Range
The ruby-crowned kinglet is relatively common throughout its range. During the summer breeding months it is found in coniferous forests across much of northern North America, including the Central Coast. Its summer range also extends south through the western mountain ranges. While some western mountain populations are present year-round, most ruby-crowned kinglets migrate south to the southern and western United States and Mexico. In winter this species can be found in a variety of habitats, including mixed forests and thickets.
The ruby-crowned kinglet is a tiny olive-green songbird, with a relatively large head and rounded body. The male has a ruby-red crown patch, however this useful identification feature is usually kept hidden. Other key ID characteristics are a white eyering, a contrasting pair of white and black wingbars on darker wings, and a tendency to constantly flick its wings. Its small size (9-11 cm long) and compact shape as well as its general energetic, acrobatic nature can also aid in identification. It has a chattering, musical song that is surprisingly loud for the bird's tiny size.
Habitat & Range
The ruby-crowned kinglet is relatively common throughout its range. During the summer breeding months it is found in coniferous forests across much of northern North America, including the Central Coast. Its summer range also extends south through the western mountain ranges. While some western mountain populations are present year-round, most ruby-crowned kinglets migrate south to the southern and western United States and Mexico. In winter this species can be found in a variety of habitats, including mixed forests and thickets.
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Similar Species
The golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa) is also small and compact and exhibits the same wing-flicking behaviour, but is easily distinguished by its golden crown patch bordered by dark eyebrow stripes. Hutton's vireo (Vireo huttoni), another small songbird, is more similar to the ruby-crowned kinglet in colour. It can be differentiated by its thicker bill with a curved tip - the ruby-crowned kinglet has a thin, straight bill - and its thicker bluish-coloured legs. Hutton's vireo is not commonly found further north than Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland coast. Intriguing Info The male uncovers and raises his red crown feathers when excited by something: by potential mates, by predators, and when singing to establish his territory. |
This video showcases the ruby-crowned kinglet's call, song, some behaviours, and how to differentiate it from the similar Hutton's vireo.
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References
Dunn, J. L. and Alderfer, J. (Eds.). (2011). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Pp. 386-387.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online. Accessed 08/06/2015.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula. Audubon birds. National Audubon Society. Accessed 08/06/2015.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
Dunn, J. L. and Alderfer, J. (Eds.). (2011). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Pp. 386-387.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online. Accessed 08/06/2015.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula. Audubon birds. National Audubon Society. Accessed 08/06/2015.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
