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Ruby-crowned kinglet
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Ruby-crowned kinglet
The ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) is a very small passerine bird found throughout North America. It is a member of the kinglet family. The bird has olive-green plumage with two white wing bars and a white eye-ring. Males have a red crown patch, which is often concealed. The sexes are identical apart from the crown, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adult females. It is one of the smallest songbirds in North America. The ruby-crowned kinglet is not closely related to other kinglets and was moved from Regulus to its own genus, Corthylio, in 2021. Three subspecies are currently recognized.
The kinglet is mostly migratory, and its range extends from northwest Canada and Alaska south to Mexico. Its breeding habitat is spruce-fir forests in the northern and mountainous regions of the United States and Canada. The ruby-crowned kinglet builds a cup-shaped nest, which may be pensile or placed on a tree branch and is often hidden. It lays up to 12 eggs, and has the largest clutch of any North American passerine for its size. It is mainly insectivorous, but also eats fruits and seeds.
The ruby-crowned kinglet was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla calendula. Linnaeus based his description on "The Ruby-crowned wren" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by English naturalist George Edwards in his Gleanings of Natural History. Edwards had received dried specimens sent by the American naturalist William Bartram from Pennsylvania. The French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 had also published a description based on Edwards and had coined the Latin name Calendula Pensilvanica. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Linnaeus specified the locality as Pennsylvania but this is now restricted to Philadelphia.
The kinglets are a small group of birds formerly included in the Old World warblers, but now given family status, especially as recent research showed that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are taxonomically remote from the warblers.
The ruby-crowned kinglet was formerly placed in the genus Regulus. As a result of its larger size, strongly red (rather than orange or yellow) crest and lack of black crown stripes, as well as its distinctive vocalizations, the ruby-crowned kinglet is considered different enough from the Old World kinglets and the other American species, the golden-crowned kinglet, to be assigned to a separate genus, Corthylio, that was introduced in 1853 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek korthúlos, a small wren-like bird mentioned by the Greek lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that the ruby-crowned kinglet's lineage diverged from the rest of Regulus during the mid- to late Miocene, about 10–15 million years ago.
Up to five subspecies have been described, but "C. c. cineraceus", breeding in montane western North America, and "C. c. arizonensis", breeding in Arizona, are considered to be clinal variants of the nominate subspecies.
The three subspecies are:
The ruby-crowned kinglet is a very small bird, being 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long, having a wingspan of 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in), and weighing 5 to 10 g (0.2 to 0.4 oz). It has gray-green upperparts and olive-buff underparts. It has two white wingbars and a broken white eye ring. The wingbar on the greater secondary coverts (closer to the wing-tip) is wider, and is next to a dark band. The kinglet has a relatively plain face and head, although the male has a scarlet-red crown patch, which is usually concealed by the surrounding feathers. The crown patch is rarely orange, yellow, or not present. Females are identical to males (except for the crown). Immature birds are similar to adult females, since young males lack a crown patch. The kinglet usually moves along branches or through foliage with short hops, and flies with bursts of rapid wing beats. It is constantly active, and is easily recognized by its characteristic wing-flicking. Its flight has been described as "swift, jerky, and erratic".
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Ruby-crowned kinglet
The ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) is a very small passerine bird found throughout North America. It is a member of the kinglet family. The bird has olive-green plumage with two white wing bars and a white eye-ring. Males have a red crown patch, which is often concealed. The sexes are identical apart from the crown, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adult females. It is one of the smallest songbirds in North America. The ruby-crowned kinglet is not closely related to other kinglets and was moved from Regulus to its own genus, Corthylio, in 2021. Three subspecies are currently recognized.
The kinglet is mostly migratory, and its range extends from northwest Canada and Alaska south to Mexico. Its breeding habitat is spruce-fir forests in the northern and mountainous regions of the United States and Canada. The ruby-crowned kinglet builds a cup-shaped nest, which may be pensile or placed on a tree branch and is often hidden. It lays up to 12 eggs, and has the largest clutch of any North American passerine for its size. It is mainly insectivorous, but also eats fruits and seeds.
The ruby-crowned kinglet was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla calendula. Linnaeus based his description on "The Ruby-crowned wren" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by English naturalist George Edwards in his Gleanings of Natural History. Edwards had received dried specimens sent by the American naturalist William Bartram from Pennsylvania. The French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 had also published a description based on Edwards and had coined the Latin name Calendula Pensilvanica. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Linnaeus specified the locality as Pennsylvania but this is now restricted to Philadelphia.
The kinglets are a small group of birds formerly included in the Old World warblers, but now given family status, especially as recent research showed that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are taxonomically remote from the warblers.
The ruby-crowned kinglet was formerly placed in the genus Regulus. As a result of its larger size, strongly red (rather than orange or yellow) crest and lack of black crown stripes, as well as its distinctive vocalizations, the ruby-crowned kinglet is considered different enough from the Old World kinglets and the other American species, the golden-crowned kinglet, to be assigned to a separate genus, Corthylio, that was introduced in 1853 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek korthúlos, a small wren-like bird mentioned by the Greek lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that the ruby-crowned kinglet's lineage diverged from the rest of Regulus during the mid- to late Miocene, about 10–15 million years ago.
Up to five subspecies have been described, but "C. c. cineraceus", breeding in montane western North America, and "C. c. arizonensis", breeding in Arizona, are considered to be clinal variants of the nominate subspecies.
The three subspecies are:
The ruby-crowned kinglet is a very small bird, being 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long, having a wingspan of 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in), and weighing 5 to 10 g (0.2 to 0.4 oz). It has gray-green upperparts and olive-buff underparts. It has two white wingbars and a broken white eye ring. The wingbar on the greater secondary coverts (closer to the wing-tip) is wider, and is next to a dark band. The kinglet has a relatively plain face and head, although the male has a scarlet-red crown patch, which is usually concealed by the surrounding feathers. The crown patch is rarely orange, yellow, or not present. Females are identical to males (except for the crown). Immature birds are similar to adult females, since young males lack a crown patch. The kinglet usually moves along branches or through foliage with short hops, and flies with bursts of rapid wing beats. It is constantly active, and is easily recognized by its characteristic wing-flicking. Its flight has been described as "swift, jerky, and erratic".
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