| Ruby-crowned kinglet | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male in Anchorage, Alaska | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Regulidae |
| Genus: | Corthylio Cabanis, 1853 |
| Species: | C. calendula
|
| Binomial name | |
| Corthylio calendula (Linnaeus, 1766)
| |
| |
| Range of C. calendula
Year round Summer (breeding) Winter (nonbreeding)
(ranges are approximate) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Regulus calendula Linnaeus, 1766 | |
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 usually concealed. The sexes are identical (apart from the crown), 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.[2] Three subspecies are currently recognized.
The kinglet is 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.
- ^ BirdLife International (2021). "Regulus calendula". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22712567A137575998. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22712567A137575998.en. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
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