Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Regulus calendula

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Regulidae
Genus: Regulus

Audio for Species

Call
Song

from Macaulay Library

Species Related Links

Additional Ruby-crowned Kinglets Pictures

Description

Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm) Weight: 0.2-0.4 oz (5-10 g) Wingspan: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)

A tiny bird that never sits still and very elusive. You will hear their call long before you ever see them. They have olive upperparts, lighter olive underparts, with white wing bars and yellow edges to filght feathers and tail. They have a white partial eye ring (front and back), dark eyes, and a thin bill. The male has a red patch in the center of his crown, which is not always visible.

Habitat, Range, and Feeding

They can be found mostly in spruce or fir forests in the northwest, but can be found in a variety of wooded areas, like deciduous forests, mountain shrub or floodplain forests. On the north Olymipc Pennsula most only winter over and move to near by areas to breed.
They nest in trees, up to heights of 100 feet, and close to the trunk of the tree. The nest is built by the female, out of grasses, feathers, mosses, spiderwebs, and cocoon silk on the outside, with even finer plant material and fur for the lining. Clutch size is 5 to 12 eggs, that are white spotted with red-brown at the large end..

They forage vigorously high in trees, mainly eating aphids, ants, wasps, insect eggs, spiders, and other insects. They also eat a small amount of seeds and fruits.