Golden-crowned kinglet

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Golden-crowned kinglet
Regulus satrapa -Canada-8a.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Regulidae
Genus: Regulus
Species:
R. satrapa
Binomial name
Regulus satrapa
Regulus satrapa map.svg
Range map of the golden-crowned kinglet. The breeding range is highlighted in orange, the migration range in yellow, the non-breeding range in blue, and the year-round range in purple.

The golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa) is a very small songbird in the family Regulidae that lives throughout much of North America.

Contents

Description

The golden-crowned kinglet is generally similar to the related ruby-crowned kinglet Golden crowned kinglet 6122.jpg
The golden-crowned kinglet is generally similar to the related ruby-crowned kinglet

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 similar to the adult, but with a browner back and without the yellow crown. [2] This is one of the smallest passerines in North America. Its length, at 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in), is probably the shortest of any American passerine.[ citation needed ] Its weight, averaging 6.1 g (0.22 oz) for females and 6.3 g (0.22 oz) for males and ranging from 4.5 to 7.8 g (0.16 to 0.28 oz), [3] is similar to the American bushtit [4] and black-tailed gnatcatcher. [5] The golden-crowned kinglet has a wingspan of 5.5-7.1 in (14-18 cm). [6]

Ecology

The golden-crowned kinglet is insectivorous, foraging in trees or shrubs, where it eats insects (especially caterpillars), insect eggs and spiders. [7] It produces a series of high-pitched calls on a single note, and tends not to fear human approach.[ citation needed ] Its nest is a well-concealed hanging cup suspended from a conifer branch. [8]

Distribution

The golden-crowned kinglet is a non-breeding resident in the winter in North Carolina Golden-crowned Kinglet RWD.jpg
The golden-crowned kinglet is a non-breeding resident in the winter in North Carolina

The golden-crowned kinglet is a widespread migratory bird throughout North America. Its breeding habitat is coniferous forests across Canada, the northeastern and western United States, Mexico and Central America. It migrates to the United States in the non-breeding season. 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.

Taxonomy

Golden-crowned kinglet hanging from an Eastern juniper (Juniperus virginiana) Golden-crowned kinglet at JBWR (11835).jpg
Golden-crowned kinglet hanging from an Eastern juniper (Juniperus virginiana)

The kinglets are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblers, but frequently given family status, [9] especially as recent research showed that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are taxonomically remote from the warblers. [10] [11] The names of the family, Regulidae, and its only genus, Regulus, are derived from the Latin regulus, a diminutive of rex, "a king", [12] 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: [13]

The subspecies "amoenus" has been synonymised with apache, as the distinctions between these populations are obscured by individual variation. [13]

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: [14]

Hybridization with ruby-crowned kinglets has been reported to have possibly occurred. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinglet</span> Family of birds

A kinglet is a small bird in the family Regulidae. Species in this family were formerly classified with the Old World warblers. "Regulidae" is derived from the Latin word regulus for "petty king" or prince, and refers to the coloured crowns of adult birds. This family has representatives in North America and Eurasia. There are six species in this family; one, the Madeira firecrest, Regulus madeirensis, was only recently split from common firecrest as a separate species. One species, the ruby-crowned kinglet, differs sufficiently in its voice and plumage to be afforded its own genus, Corthylio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pallas's leaf warbler</span> A small migratory passerine bird that breeds in northern Asia

Pallas's leaf warbler or Pallas's warbler, is a bird that breeds in mountain forests from southern Siberia east to northern Mongolia and northeast China. It is named for German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas, who first formally described it. This leaf warbler is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in south China and adjacent areas of southeast Asia, although in recent decades increasing numbers have been found in Europe in autumn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldcrest</span> Small passerine bird in the kinglet family

The goldcrest is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, R. regulus, means 'petty king' or prince. Several subspecies are recognised across the very large distribution range that includes much of the Palearctic and the islands of Macaronesia and Iceland. Birds from the north and east of its breeding range migrate to winter further south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common firecrest</span> Very small passerine bird from Europe and northwest Africa

The common firecrest, also known as the firecrest, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. It breeds in most of temperate Europe and northwestern Africa, and is partially migratory, with birds from central Europe wintering to the south and west of their breeding range. Firecrests in the Balearic Islands and north Africa are widely recognised as a separate subspecies, but the population on Madeira, previously also treated as a subspecies, is now treated as a distinct species, the Madeira firecrest, Regulus madeirensis. A fossil ancestor of the firecrest has been identified from a single wing bone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby-crowned kinglet</span> Species of bird

The ruby-crowned kinglet 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 usually concealed. The sexes are identical, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrtle warbler</span> Subspecies of bird

The myrtle warbler is a small New World warbler. It is considered a subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler and its own species by different classification societies. The myrtle warbler has a northerly and easterly distribution, with the Audubon's warbler further west. It breeds in much of Canada and the northeastern United States. It is migratory, wintering in the southeastern United States, eastern Central America, and the Caribbean. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe, and has wintered in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-rumped warbler</span> Species of bird

The yellow-rumped warbler is a regular North American bird species that can be commonly observed all across the continent. Its extensive distribution range connects both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S. as well as Canada and Central America, with the population concentrating in the continent's northern parts during the breeding season and migrating southwards to southern North and Central America in Winter. The species generally prefers coniferous forests or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests as its breeding habitat, while during the winter it can be found inhabiting more open areas such as shrublands that offer food resources. The diet of the yellow-rumped warbler is based primarily on insects, though the species does eat fruits such as juniper berries as well, especially in winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow warbler</span> Species of bird

The yellow warbler is a New World warbler species. Yellow warblers are the most widespread species in the diverse genus Setophaga, breeding in almost the whole of North America, the Caribbean, and down to northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flamecrest</span> Species of bird

The flamecrest, also known as Taiwan firecrest, is a species of bird in the kinglet family, Regulidae. It is endemic to the mountains of Taiwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeira firecrest</span> Very small passerine bird in the kinglet family from Madeira

The Madeira firecrest, Madeira kinglet, or Madeiracrest is a very small passerine bird endemic to the island of Madeira. It is a member of the kinglet family. Before it was recognised as a separate species in 2003, it was classified as a subspecies of the common firecrest. It differs in appearance and vocalisations from its relative, and genetic analysis has confirmed it as a different species. The Madeiran bird has green upperparts, whitish underparts and two white wingbars, and a distinctive head pattern with a black eye stripe, short white supercilium, and a crest that is mainly orange in the male and yellow in the female.

<i>Regulus</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Regulus is a genus of bird in the family Regulidae.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Regulus satrapa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22712594A132100712. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22712594A132100712.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Sibley, David Allen (2000). The Sibley Guide to Birds . New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p.  394. ISBN   978-0-679-45122-8.
  3. Dunning, Jr., John B. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press. p. 344. ISBN   978-1-4200-6444-5.
  4. Hertz, P. E., J. V. Remsen, Jr., and S. I. Jones. 1976. Ecological complementarity of three sympatric parids in a California oak woodland. Condor 78:307–316.
  5. Atwood, J. L. 1988. Speciation and geographic variation in Black-tailed Gnatcatchers. Ornithol. Monogr. 42
  6. "Golden-crowned Kinglet Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  7. Heinrich, Bernd; Bell, Ross (1995). "Winter Food of a Small Insectivorous Bird, the Golden-Crowned Kinglet". The Wilson Bulletin. 107 (3): 558–561. JSTOR   4163582 via JSTOR.
  8. Harrison, H. H. (1975). A field guide to birds’ nests found east of the Mississippi River. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts.
  9. Monroe, Burt L. (February 1992). "The new DNA-DNA avian classification: What's it all about?". British Birds. 85 (2): 53–61.
  10. Barker, F Keith; Barrowclough, George F; Groth, Jeff G (2002). "A phylogenetic hypothesis for passerine birds: taxonomic and biogeographic implications of an analysis of nuclear DNA sequence data". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 269 (1488): 295–308. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1883. PMC   1690884 . PMID   11839199.
  11. Spicer, Greg S; Dunipace, Leslie (2004). "Molecular phylogeny of songbirds (Passerifor-mes) inferred from mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 30 (2): 325–335. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00193-3. PMID   14715224.
  12. Brookes, Ian, ed. (2006). The Chambers Dictionary (10th ed.). Edinburgh: Chambers. pp. 223, 735, 1277. ISBN   9780550101853.
  13. 1 2 3 Pyle, Peter (1997). Identification Guide to North American Birds Part 1. Bolinas, California: Slate Creek Press. pp. 374–375. ISBN   978-0-9618940-2-3.
  14. Martens, Jochen; Päckert, Martin "Family Regulidae (Kinglets & Firecrests)" pp. 330–349 in del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David A., eds. (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers v. 11. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN   978-84-96553-06-4.