Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Regulus calendulaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Kinglets (Regulidae)

Codes: Common Name: RCKI Scientific Name: REGCAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179870

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Widespread

Egg Color:

Creamy white splotched with brown or gray

Number of Eggs:

5 - 11

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Moss, lichen, down, twigs, and dead leaves, lined with finer material.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Medium-sized kinglet with olive-green upperparts and gray-washed, pale yellow underparts. Head has inconspicuous tuft of red crown feathers and white spectacles. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is slightly notched and has white edges. Female lacks red crown.

Range and Habitat

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland, south to southern California and New Mexico in the west, and to the Great Lakes region and northern New England in the east. Spends winters south from southern British Columbia and California across the southern tier of states to southern New England. Preferred habitats include coniferous and deciduous forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Five to eleven creamy white eggs splotched with brown or gray are laid in a nest suspended from twigs below a sheltering and concealing horizontal branch. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Diet consists of insects, insect eggs, fruits, and seeds; forages by gleaning tree trunks, branches, and dense foliage.

Readily Eats

Suet

Vocalization

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Song is a series of high-pitched "tsee, tsee" notes, followed by several "tew" notes, followed by a three-note trill of "liberty-liberty-liberty." Calls include an emphatic "je-ditt" and "cack-cack."

Similar Species

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Golden-crowned Kinglet has a white stripe above the eye, orange crown patch (male), and paler underparts. Hutton's Vireo is larger, stockier, and has a stouter bill.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Medium kinglet, olive-green upperparts and gray-washed, pale yellow underparts. Head has inconspicuous tuft of red crown feathers, white spectacles. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is slightly notched and has white edges. Weak fluttering flight on shallow wing beats.

● Song: "tsee-tsee", "liberty-liberty-liberty", "je-dtit", "cack-cack"

● Foraging & Feeding: Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Diet consists of insects, insect eggs, fruits, and seeds; forages by gleaning tree trunks, branches, and dense foliage.

● Breeding & nesting: Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Five to eleven creamy white eggs splotched with brown or gray are laid in a nest suspended from twigs below a sheltering and concealing horizontal branch. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Golden-crowned Kinglet has a white stripe above the eye, orange crown patch (male), and paler underparts. Hutton's Vireo is larger, stockier, and has a stouter bill.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Ruby-Crowned Kinglet: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland, south to southern California and New Mexico in the west, and to the Great Lakes region and northern New England in the east. Spends winters south from southern British Columbia and California across the southern tier of states to southern New England. Preferred habitats include coniferous and deciduous forests.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationWidespread

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.2 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America