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Ruby-crowned kinglet male, 2009. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Ruby-crowned kinglet showing its acrobatic tendencies, 2010. William H. Majoros. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

ruby-crowned kinglet

Regulus calendula

Identification: 
This is a very tiny bird, mostly olive with a white (incomplete) eye ring, very pointy beak, darker wings with white wingbar and yellow edges.  Though it’s called “ruby-crowned,” the male’s red crown is usually invisible.   

Behavior:
The ruby-crowned kinglet is extremely active, almost agitated.  It flits rapidly from branch to branch, sometimes fluttering around leaves to glean insects. 

What brings it to the SBG?
Food and cover during migration.  The species nests in boreal forests in tall conifers and its winter range is just south of the Centre Region.  It can find insects in the trees around the SBG and in the brushy growth as well.

When can I see it?
Spring and fall, on its way north or south respectively.