Educate Yourself About the Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Other Kinglets
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet has a bright red patch on the head, distinct white eye-ring, small gray-green body, two white wing bars, and a stubby tail. Its length is 4in (10cm)
Its wingspan is 7in (18.5cm) its voice is a song consisting of 3-4 high calls, several low calls, and a chant of “zhee-dit, zhee-dit, zhee-dit”. Their eggs are white with reddish specks, with 1 clutch consisting of 7-9 or (5-11) eggs.The female incubates for around 12 days and fledging time is also about 12 days. They both feed their young. Male and female look alike.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny bird (smaller than a chickadee) that can be easily overlooked, but is very common all across the U.S. These energetic birds are also hard to spot because they spend most of their time hovering above high tops of conifers, and branch tips, but also flitting about in high shrubs.
If you spot a kinglet, you will notice that they seem to be unafraid of humans, try holding out a leafy branch of elderberry, and they will completely ignore you, and concentrate on exploring the foliage instead. If you are lucky, you might even get a chance to stroke one of them on its back, if you are close enough.
During the winter time they join mixed flocks of titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, and brown creepers, patrolling the tree tops. They will winter further north than its look-alike Ruby-crowned Kinglet that winters in the southern United States, and northern Mexico, and this habit makes it easier for them to hurry back, and claim the best nesting territories.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is an insect eater, and will enjoy hunting for bark beetles, aphids, caterpillars, spiders, and other delectable insects in trees and shrubs. They build small hanging nest, usually located in spruces. Unlike the Chickadees, the kinglets have no internal thermostats, and cannot adjust their body temperatures while roosting in very cold weather. Instead they have to find shelter in protected places, like old bird nests and dense shrubs, on cold winter days and nights.
If you like to attract the Golden-crowned Kinglet, and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet to your lovely bird feeding garden, plant elderberry bushes for winter food, and insect-harboring trees such as pines, hemlocks, spruces, and oaks. Also put out suet mixes of suet and cornmeal. They will only visit your bird garden during winter times in most of the United States.
