Ruby-crowned Kinglet Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Kinglets are tiny songbirds with relatively large heads, almost no neck, and thin tails. They have very small, thin, straight bills.

  Relative Size

  Smaller than a chickadee or warbler; about the same size as a Golden-crowned Kinglet.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm)
    • Weight: 0.2-0.3 oz (5-10 g)
    • Wingspan: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)

  © Evan Lipton / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Ruby-crowned Kinglets are olive-green birds with a prominent white eyering and white wingbar. This wingbar contrasts with an adjacent blackish bar in the wing. The “ruby crown” of the male is only occasionally visible.

• Behavior

  These are restless, acrobatic birds that move quickly through foliage, typically at lower and middle levels. They flick their wings almost constantly as they go.
• Habitat

  Ruby-crowned Kinglets breed in tall, dense conifer forests such as spruce, fir, and tamarack. In winter and during migration, also look for them in shrubby habitats, deciduous forests, parks, and suburbs.