Golden-crowned Kinglet
Encyclopedia
The Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, is a very small songbird
.
Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black. The adult male has an orange patch in the middle of the yellow crown.
Their breeding habitat is coniferous forests across Canada
, the northeastern and western United States
, Mexico
and Central America
. They nest in a well-concealed hanging cup suspended from a conifer branch.
These birds migrate
to the United States. Some birds are permanent residents in coastal regions and in the southern parts of their range. Northern birds remain further north in winter than the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
They forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and spider
s.
They give a series of high-pitched calls on a single note, and tend not to fear human approach.
s, but frequently given family status, especially as recent research showed that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are taxonomically remote from the warblers. The names of the family, Regulidae, and its only genus, Regulus, are derived from the Latin
regulus, a diminutive of rex, "a king", and refer to the characteristic orange or yellow crests of adult kinglets.
There are three migratory subspecies in the United States and Canada, differing in size, bill length, back and rump colours, wing-bar width and colour, and length of supercilium:
The subspecies "amoenus" has been synonymised with apache as the distinction between these populations are obscured by individual variation.
Two other (non-migratory) subspecies occur south of the bird's core range, although these are weakly differentiated from each other and so are perhaps best synonymised:
Hybridization with Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been reported to have possibly occurred.
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
.
Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black. The adult male has an orange patch in the middle of the yellow crown.
Their breeding habitat is coniferous forests across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the northeastern and western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. They nest in a well-concealed hanging cup suspended from a conifer branch.
These birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to the United States. Some birds are permanent residents in coastal regions and in the southern parts of their range. Northern birds remain further north in winter than the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
They forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s.
They give a series of high-pitched calls on a single note, and tend not to fear human approach.
Description
Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black. The adult male has an orange patch in the middle of the yellow crown. The juvenile is to adult, but with a browner back and without the yellow crown.Distribution
Golden-crowned Kinglet is a widespread North American bird, breeding in many US states, and over much of Canada, and wintering across much of the continent south to Florida, Texas and Mexico. It also occurs in isolated mountain ranges in southern Mexico and Guatemala, where it is represented by separate subspecies.Taxonomy
The kinglets are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblerOld World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...
s, but frequently given family status, especially as recent research showed that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are taxonomically remote from the warblers. The names of the family, Regulidae, and its only genus, Regulus, are derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
regulus, a diminutive of rex, "a king", and refer to the characteristic orange or yellow crests of adult kinglets.
There are three migratory subspecies in the United States and Canada, differing in size, bill length, back and rump colours, wing-bar width and colour, and length of supercilium:
- subspecies apache, breeding and wintering from southern Alaska and southern Yukon to southwest California and southern New Mexico. This subspecies is medium-small, has a long bill, and has the back and rump bright yellowish-olive
- subspecies olivaceus, breeding from coastal southeast Alaska to southwest Oregon, wintering to Idaho and southwest California. This subspecis is small, with a medium-long bill, and has the back and rump dark greenish-olive.
- subspecies satrapa, breeding from northern Alberta to Newfoundland and North Carolina. This subspecies is large, with a short bill, has the back and rump olive with a greyish wash. It further differs from apache and olivaceus in two other regards: the white supercilium stops short of the rear of the crown, whereas on the other two species the supercilium extends farther back, and the wingbars are wide, and white (or slightly lemon-tinged) compared with narrow dingy whitish (or lemon- or olive-washed) wingbars of the other two subspecies.
The subspecies "amoenus" has been synonymised with apache as the distinction between these populations are obscured by individual variation.
Two other (non-migratory) subspecies occur south of the bird's core range, although these are weakly differentiated from each other and so are perhaps best synonymised:
- subspecies aztecus in south-central Mexico, in the mountains from Michoacán south to Oaxaca. This subspecies is dark greenish above, has poorly developed wing markings, and its underparts are washed greyish-brown.
- subspecies clarus in the mountains of Chiapas, southern Mexico, and in Guatemala. This subspecies resembles aztecus but is paler and duller, with a shorter tail.
Hybridization with Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been reported to have possibly occurred.
External links
- Golden-crowned Kinglet Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Golden-crowned Kinglet Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter