Something for Sat. Ruby Crowned-Kinglet

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, PhotographyTagged , , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I don’t want the week to go by without a post so here we have me posting on a rare Saturday.

This little Kinglet is so cute, but very flitty normally but, on this day earlier this month I was able to get quite a few good looks at this one.

They’re a small bird being only 3.5-4.3 inches in length, and weigh 0.2-0.3 ounces.

They get their name from a Ruby spot on their crown.

I have yet to see it flared, but here’s a look at the top of its head showing the Ruby spot.

This one is busy being an acrobat which afforded me a good look at its Ruby Spot which was a treat. Just look at how light they are it’s holding onto those pine needles and they aren’t bending!

Fun Facts:

  • The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny bird that lays a very large clutch of eggs—there can be up to 12 in a single nest. Although the eggs themselves weigh only about a fiftieth of an ounce, an entire clutch can weigh as much as the female herself.
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglets seem nervous as they flit through the foliage, flicking their wings nearly constantly. Keeping an eye out for this habit can be a useful aid to identifying kinglets.
  • Metabolic studies on Ruby-crowned Kinglets suggest that these tiny birds use only about 10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day.
  • The oldest known Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a female, and at least 8 years, 8 months old, when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Texas in 2017. She was banded in the same state in 2008.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.orghttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/overview

I hope you all have a great week-end!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

45 thoughts on “Something for Sat. Ruby Crowned-Kinglet”

  10. What a cute little bird! It’s wonderful that you were able to get such nice images of it. Is the ruby ‘crown’ a mark of breeding season, or is it there all year round? It tickles me that birds sometimes keep their little bits of distinctive color hidden; this is a great example. Another one that comes to mind is the yellow-rumped warbler. It’s especially fun that the oldest ruby-crowned kinglet was banded in Texas. I’ve never taken part in any of the banding events in my area, but I know there are quite a few.

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  18. Dang, that’s a cute little bird. I’m surprised you could get good photos of it. The idea of that bird having that many eggs is amazing. I was wondering if I had missed your post. I was so busy this week, blog notifications piled up. I’m glad I didn’t.

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    1. Thank you so much, Dan! This one was foraging in a pine tree right along the trail and was in no hurry to give it up because I or anyone came by or stopped to look. That made for a nice change, and good photo ops.

      Can you imagine how busy they must be after the clutch hatches feeding that many! Exhausting I’m sure.

      I wanted to share this yesterday, but I wasn’t home most the day so today worked out better.

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  19. What cute little things, Deborah, and wonderful pictures of this one. The red (or ruby – sounds better) spot makes them kind of distinguished. 10 Kcal per day? And always flapping their tiny wings? There must be efficiency in that! I don’t think we have them over here in the Netherlands, and I envy you for having them!

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