Golden-crowned Kinglet

The Golden-crowned Kinglet is one of North America's smallest songbirds, weighing barely more than a coin, yet it survives even the coldest winter nights in northern conifer forests. Its plumage is olive-gray above and pale gray-white below, with two white wingbars and a bold black-and-white striped face pattern.

Its namesake feature is the vivid crown patch: males show a flame-orange center bordered by yellow and black, while females have a yellow crown bordered in black, both of which can be raised into a small crest during excitement or display. These tiny birds are constantly in motion, flicking their wings as they forage high in conifer canopies.

Key Field Marks

• Bold black-and-white striped face with a black eyeline but no obvious eye-ring
• Bright yellow-orange crown patch bordered in black (orange center visible mainly in males)
• Olive-gray upperparts with two white wingbars
• Very small size and constant wing-flicking behavior
• Thin, needle-like black bill

Similar Species

Ruby-crowned Kinglet lacks the bold black-and-white face stripes, has a plain face with a bold white eye-ring, and shows a red crown patch (in males) that is usually concealed and only flashed during excitement. Golden-crowned Kinglet's crown patch is visible much more often and its face pattern is far more strongly marked.

Habitat

This species favors dense coniferous forest, especially spruce, fir, and pine, but also uses mixed woodlands, particularly during migration and winter when it may join mixed-species foraging flocks in deciduous or mixed stands.

Range

Golden-crowned Kinglets breed across the boreal forest of Canada and Alaska, south through the Appalachians and mountainous conifer forests of the western United States. In winter, the range expands across most of the continental United States wherever conifers or mixed woods occur.

Migration

Northern populations migrate south for winter, though many birds in milder or higher-elevation forested regions remain resident; remarkably, this tiny bird can survive temperatures well below freezing on northern winter nights.

Behavior

Golden-crowned Kinglets are almost constantly active, hovering and flitting among conifer needles while flicking their wings rapidly, rarely pausing for more than a second or two.

Voice

The song is a thin, rising series of very high-pitched 'see' notes ending in a chattered jumble. The call is a very high, thin 'see-see-see,' often the first clue to the bird's presence in a conifer canopy.

Feeding

It gleans tiny insects, spiders, and insect eggs from needles and twigs, frequently hovering briefly to pick prey from the tips of branches, and will also take some tree sap.

Nesting & Breeding

The pair builds a deep, well-insulated hanging cup nest of moss, lichen, and spider silk suspended high in dense conifer foliage, well hidden from view. The female lays a large clutch of 8-9 tiny eggs, an impressive number relative to her small body size.