Ruby-crowned Kinglet

(Regulus calendula)

LISTEN (Recordist: Chris Parrish, XC22012; accessible at Xeno Canto).  

General Description:  Tiny, active, olive-green to gray songbird. Wings are dark, with two white wing-bars. The second wing-bar has a black smudge underneath. The bird has incomplete white eye-rings, black legs, and yellow feet. The male has a bright red crest, which it sometimes raises when excited, but usually keeps hidden. Females lack the red crest.

Habitat: They breed in dry, open, coniferous and mixed forests at high elevations, typically in small forest openings or wetlands. Found in lowlands during migrations and in winter, in a wide variety of forest and shrub habitats.

Behavior: The Ruby-crowned Kinglet gleans food from foliage, often hovering to forage on the undersides of leaves and twigs. Monogamous, it forms new pair bonds each breeding season.  Females produce one brood per year, with clutches containing 9 to10 eggs.

Diet: Tiny insects, spiders, and insect eggs. In winter, they also eat seeds, sap, and berries.

Range in North America: Found throughout the continent.

When to See in Washington: Breed in the Olympics and west of the Cascade crest and eastern Cascades.  Common in lowlands in the winter in western Washington, and during fall and spring migrations throughout the state.

For detailed information about Ruby-crowned Kinglet, visit Seattle Audubon’s BirdWeb.