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Ruby-crowned kinglet
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{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2021 |title=''Regulus calendula'' |page=e.T22712567A137575998 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22712567A137575998.en |access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref> | image = Regulus calendula MP 3.jpg | image_caption = Male in Réserve naturelle du Marais-Léon-Provancher, Québec, Canada | image2 = Ruby-crowned kinglet in Green-Wood Cemetery (55761).jpg | image2_caption = Female in New York, USA | taxon = Corthylio calendula | parent_authority = [[Jean Cabanis|Cabanis]], 1853 | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) | range_map =Corthylio calendula map.svg | range_map_caption= Range of ''C. calendula'' {{leftlegend|#8d5fd3|outline=gray|Year round}}{{leftlegend|#ff9955|outline=gray|Summer (breeding)}}{{leftlegend|#87aade|outline=gray|Winter (nonbreeding)}}{{leftlegend|#ffdd55|outline=gray|Migration}} <small>(ranges are approximate)</small> | synonyms = ''Regulus calendula'' {{small|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 often concealed. The sexes are identical apart from the crown, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adult females. 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 (bird)|Regulus]]'' to its own [[genus]], ''Corthylio'' in 2021.<ref name=":0" /> Three [[subspecies]] are currently recognized. The kinglet is mostly migratory, and its range extends from northwest Canada and Alaska south to Mexico. Its breeding habitat is [[spruce-fir forests]] in the northern and [[mountain]]ous regions of the United States and Canada. The ruby-crowned kinglet builds a cup-shaped [[bird nest|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. ==Taxonomy== The ruby-crowned kinglet was [[species description|formally described]] in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Motacilla calendula''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | pages=337–338 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946533 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his description on "The Ruby-crowned wren" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by English naturalist [[George Edwards (naturalist)|George Edwards]] in his ''Gleanings of Natural History''. Edwards had received dried specimens sent by the American naturalist [[William Bartram]] from Pennsylvania.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Edwards | first=George | author-link=George Edwards (naturalist) | year=1758| title=Gleanings of Natural History, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, plants &c... | language=English, French | volume=Part 1 | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author, at the College of Physicians | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56896035 | page=95 Plate 254 }}</ref> The French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in 1760 had also published a description based on Edwards and had coined the Latin name ''Calendula Pensilvanica''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | volume=3 | language=French, Latin | page=584 | location=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35953683 }}</ref> Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial system]] and are not recognised by the [[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]].<ref name=allen>{{cite journal |last=Allen | first=J.A. | author-link=Joel Asaph Allen | year=1910 | title=Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=28 | pages=317–335 | hdl=2246/678 }}</ref> Linnaeus specified the [[type locality (biology)|locality]] as Pennsylvania but this is now restricted to [[Philadelphia]].<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1986 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=11 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=292 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483993 }}</ref> The kinglets are a small group of birds formerly included in the [[Old World warbler]]s, but now given family status,<ref name = BB852 >{{cite journal |last= Monroe |first= Burt L. |date=February 1992 |title= The new DNA-DNA avian classification: What's it all about? |journal= British Birds |volume=85 |issue= 2|pages=53–61 }}</ref> especially as recent research showed that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are taxonomically remote from the warblers.<ref name= Barker>{{cite journal | last= Barker | first= F Keith |author2=Barrowclough, George F |author3=Groth, Jeff G | year = 2002 | title= A phylogenetic hypothesis for passerine birds: taxonomic and biogeographic implications of an analysis of nuclear DNA sequence data | journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B | volume= 269 | pages= 295–308 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2001.1883 | pmid=11839199 | pmc=1690884 | issue=1488}}</ref><ref name= Spicer>{{cite journal | last= Spicer | first= Greg S |author2=Dunipace, Leslie | year= 2004 | title= Molecular phylogeny of songbirds (Passerifor-mes) inferred from mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences | journal= Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume= 30 | issue= 2 | pages= 325–335 | url = http://online.sfsu.edu/~gs/spicer/pages/spicerpdf/spicerdunipace04.pdf| doi = 10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00193-3 | pmid=14715224| bibcode= 2004MolPE..30..325S }}</ref> The ruby-crowned kinglet was formerly placed in the genus ''[[Regulus_(bird) | Regulus]]''. As a result of its larger size, strongly red (rather than orange or yellow) crest and lack of black crown stripes, as well as its distinctive vocalisations, the ruby-crowned kinglet is considered different enough from the Old World kinglets and the other American species, the golden-crowned kinglet, to be assigned to a separate genus, ''Corthylio'', that was introduced in 1853 by the German ornithologist [[Jean Cabanis]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Cabanis | first=Jean | author-link=Jean Cabanis | year=1853 | title=Zur Naturgeschichte des Pallas'schen Lanbhähnchens, ''Phyllobasileus superciliosus'' | language=German | journal=Journal für Ornithologie | volume=1 | issue=2 | pages=81–96 [83]| doi=10.1007/BF02001971 | bibcode=1853JOrni...1...81C | s2cid=32015484 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13866877 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal | last1=Chesser | first1=R.T. | last2=Billerman | first2=S.M. | last3=Burns | first3=K.J. | last4=Cicero | first4=C. | last5=Dunn | first5=J.L. | last6=Hernández-Baños | first6=B.E. | last7=Kratter | first7=A.W. | last8=Lovette | first8=I.J. | last9=Mason | first9=N.A. | last10=Rasmussen | first10=P.C. | last11=Remsen | first11=J.V.J. | last12=Stotz | first12=D.F. | last13=Winker | first13=K. | date=2021 | title=Sixty-second Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds | journal=Ornithology | volume=138 | issue=ukab037 | doi=10.1093/ornithology/ukab037 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Dapple-throats, sugarbirds, fairy-bluebirds, kinglets, Elachura, hyliotas, wrens, gnatcatchers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sugarbirds/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=20 July 2021 }}</ref> The genus name is from the [[Ancient Greek]] ''korthúlos'', a small wren-like bird mentioned by the Greek lexicographer [[Hesychius of Alexandria]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=119 }}</ref> Phylogenetic evidence indicates that the ruby-crowned kinglet's lineage diverged from the rest of ''Regulus'' during the mid- to late [[Miocene]], about 10–15 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Oliveros|first1=Carl H.|last2=Field|first2=Daniel J.|last3=Ksepka|first3=Daniel T.|last4=Barker|first4=F. Keith|last5=Aleixo|first5=Alexandre|last6=Andersen|first6=Michael J.|last7=Alström|first7=Per|last8=Benz|first8=Brett W.|last9=Braun|first9=Edward L.|last10=Braun|first10=Michael J.|last11=Bravo|first11=Gustavo A.|date=2019-04-16|title=Earth history and the passerine superradiation|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=116|issue=16|pages=7916–7925|doi=10.1073/pnas.1813206116|issn=0027-8424|pmid=30936315|pmc=6475423|bibcode=2019PNAS..116.7916O |doi-access=free}}</ref> Up to five [[subspecies]] have been described, but "''C. c. cineraceus''", breeding in [[Montane ecosystems|montane]] western [[North America]], and "''C. c. arizonensis''", breeding in [[Arizona]], are considered to be clinal variants of the nominate subspecies. The three subspecies are:<ref name=ioc/> * ''C. c. grinnellii'' (Palmer, W, 1897) – Breeds in southeast Alaska (described from [[Sitka, Alaska]]), southwestern Canada and northwestern U.S., in coastal [[temperate rainforest]]. Resident or only a short-distant migrant wintering in western U.S. Darker, and shorter-winged than ''C. c. calendula''.<ref name="Palmer">{{cite journal | journal=The Auk |volume=14 |pages=399–410 |year=1897 |title=The Stikan Kinglet | url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v014n04/p0399-p0401.pdf | access-date=2024-12-14}}</ref> * ''C. c. calendula'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) – Breeds in central, eastern Canada and southwestern, west-central, eastern U.S. Winters in northern Central America * ''C. c. obscurus'' ([[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]], 1876) – [[Endemism|Endemic]] on [[Guadalupe Island]] off the coast of northwestern Mexico. Darker, with a larger bill, and shorter wings and tail than ''C. c. calendula''. Resident.<ref name="Ridgway">{{cite web | title=Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories | publisher=Government Printing Office | volume=v.2 (1876) | date=1874 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32141266#page/254/mode/1up | access-date=2024-12-14}}</ref> == Description == The ruby-crowned kinglet is a very small bird, being {{convert|9|to|11|cm|in|1|sp=us|abbr=on}} long, having a wingspan of {{convert|16|to|18|cm|in|1|sp=us|abbr=on}}, and weighing {{convert|5|to|10|g|oz|1|sp=us|abbr=on}}.<ref name=AAB>{{cite web |title=Ruby-crowned Kinglet|work=Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Guide|publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology|year =1994|url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/lifehistory|access-date=2 November 2010}}</ref> It has gray-green upperparts and olive-[[buff (color)|buff]] underparts.<ref name=BirdsOfMaine>{{cite book |title= The birds of Maine |last=Knight|first=Ora Willis|year=1908|publisher=C. H. Glass & co.|location=[[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]]|isbn=978-1-145-46819-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/birdsmainewithk00kniggoog/page/n666 616]–619|url=https://archive.org/details/birdsmainewithk00kniggoog|access-date=1 November 2010}}</ref> It has two white wingbars and a broken white eye ring. The wingbar on the greater secondary coverts (closer to the wing-tip) is wider, and is next to a dark band. The kinglet has a relatively plain face and head, although the male has a scarlet-red crown patch, which is usually concealed by the surrounding feathers. The crown patch is rarely orange, yellow, or not present.<ref name="BNA Characteristics">{{cite web|url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/119/articles/characteristics|title=Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Distinguishing Characteristics|last1=Ingold|first1=J L|last2=Wallace|first2=G E|date=28 July 2008|work=The Birds of North America Online|publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology|access-date=3 November 2010}}</ref> Females are identical to males (except for the crown). Immature birds are similar to adult females, since young males lack a crown patch.<ref name="BirdsOfMaine"/> The kinglet usually moves along branches or through foliage with short hops, and flies with bursts of rapid wing beats. It is constantly active, and is easily recognized by its characteristic wing-flicking. Its flight has been described as "swift, jerky, and erratic".<ref name="Dunne">{{cite book |title=Pete Dunne's essential field guide companion|last=Dunne|first=Peter|year=2006|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|location=New York|isbn=978-0-618-23648-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/petedunnesessent00dunn/page/487 487]|url=https://archive.org/details/petedunnesessent00dunn|url-access=registration|access-date=3 November 2010}}</ref> Compared to the related [[golden-crowned kinglet]], the ruby-crowned kinglet is slightly larger, more elongated,<ref name="Sibley">{{cite book|title=The Sibley Guide to Birds|last=Sibley|first=David Allen|author-link=David Allen Sibley|year=2000|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|isbn=978-0-679-45122-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/394 394]|url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/394}}</ref> and has greener plumage. The bird can be mistaken for [[Hutton's vireo]], which also displays wing-flicking, though less frequently than the kinglet. It can also be mistaken for the [[dwarf vireo]] in Mexico. However, both of the vireos are larger, have stouter bills and legs, and lack the kinglet's black bar on the wings.<ref name="BNA Characteristics"/> <gallery mode=packed> Ruby-crowned Kinglet.jpg|Rare flashing of ruby crest Ruby-crowned Kinglet1.jpg|Close-up on head Regulus calendula Dobak.jpg|Reverse view of male, showing the red crown Ruby-crowned Kinglet2.jpg|Tail plumage Regulus calendula-perching.jpg|Underparts </gallery> ===Vocalization=== The ruby-crowned kinglet's vocalizations are remarkably loud and complex for its size. Its song can be divided into three main parts: a series of high pitched notes (''zee-zee-zee'' or ''tee-tee-tee''), two to five low trills (''turr'' or ''tu''), and a repeated three note "galloping" phrase (''tee-da-leet'', ''tee-da-leet'').<ref name="Borror">{{cite book |title=Songs of Eastern Birds|last=Borror|first=Donald J|year=1984|publisher=Dover Publications|location=[[Don Mills]]|isbn=978-0-486-99912-8|pages=44–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dikA-15BLVEC&pg=PA44|access-date=3 November 2010}}</ref> However, there is variation in the songs of a given individual, and they often contain only one or two of the three parts. The third part is only sung by male birds; an abbreviated version is heard from the females. Other vocalizations of the ruby-crowned kinglet include alarm calls, simple [[contact calls]], and begging calls produced by chicks.<ref name="BNA Voice">{{cite web|url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/119/articles/sounds|title=Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Sounds|last1=Ingold|first1=J L|last2=Wallace|first2=G E|date=28 July 2008|work=The Birds of North America Online|publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology|access-date=3 November 2010}}</ref> The subspecies ''C. c. grinnellii'', breeding from southeastern [[Alaska]] to [[British Columbia]] differs significantly from the nominate ''calendula'', and so is considered to represent a valid subspecies: it is smaller and shorter-winged, its upperparts are darker and greener, its underparts are buffy rather than grayish-olive, and the vent is tinged yellow rather than dull whitish-olive.<ref name="Pyle">pp. 375–76 in {{cite book| last = Pyle | first = Peter | title = Identification Guide to North American Birds Part 1 | year = 1997 | publisher = Slate Creek Press | location = Bolinas, California | isbn = 978-0-9618940-2-3 | title-link = Identification Guide to North American Birds }}</ref> The subspecies ''C. c. obscurus'', from [[Guadalupe Island]], off [[Baja California]], is considered endangered, and may already be extinct.<ref name = hbw>Martens, Jochen; Päckert, Martin "Family Regulidae (Kinglets & Firecrests)" pp. 330–349 in {{cite book| editor-last = del Hoyo | editor-first = Josep | editor2-last = Elliott | editor2-first = Andrew | editor3-last = Christie | editor3-first = David A. | title = Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers | year =2006 | publisher = [[Lynx Edicions]] | location = Barcelona | isbn = 978-84-96553-06-4 | title-link = Handbook of the Birds of the World }}</ref> Hybridization with [[golden-crowned kinglet]]s has been reported to have possibly occurred.<ref name = "Pyle"/> == Distribution and habitat == Their breeding habitat is [[conifer]]ous forests across [[Canada]], [[Alaska]], northern [[New England]] and the western United States. They nest in a well-concealed hanging cup suspended from a conifer branch and may lay as many as twelve eggs in a clutch. The recent counting indicates that the ruby-crowned kinglet population is on the rise. This is mainly due to discovery of less disturbed territory farther north. This allows more successful breeding. These birds [[bird migration|migrate]] to the southern United States and [[Mexico]]. Some birds are permanent residents in the west. == Behaviour == Ruby-crowned kinglets forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating small insects and [[spider]]s, some berries and tree [[sap]]. They may hover over a branch while feeding and sometimes fly out to catch insects in flight. The red crest is raised when agitated or in display. Often, they perform a "broken-wing" act to draw predators away from their nest, which they will defend fearlessly, [[Mobbing (animal_behavior)|mobbing]] the intruder which may be a cat, squirrel, or human. == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == {{Commons category|Corthylio calendula}} {{Wikispecies|Regulus calendula}} * [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet.html Ruby-crowned Kinglet Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology * [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i7490id.html Ruby-crowned Kinglet – ''Regulus calendula''] – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * {{InternetBirdCollection|ruby-crowned-kinglet-regulus-calendula|Ruby-crowned Kinglet}} * {{VIREO|Ruby-crowned+Kinglet|Ruby-crowned Kinglet}} {{Kinglets}} {{Passerida|M.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q576050}} [[Category:Regulidae|ruby-crowned kinglet]] [[Category:Native birds of Alaska]] [[Category:Birds of Canada]] [[Category:Native birds of the Rocky Mountains]] [[Category:Birds described in 1766|ruby-crowned kinglet]] [[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|ruby-crowned kinglet]] [[Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN]] <!-- Corthylio calendula -->
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