Tag: warbler

Kinglet

Ruby-crowned kinglet, male. January 2026.

I finally identified a little bird this morning which had been zipping all around our feeder while ignoring it all the same. He mostly seemed interested in getting into our kitchen. The cool thing about him is the crown: when a bit agitated, he flips it up as it is in the photo above. When he’s calmer, it’s down and more difficult to see, as shown below.

Ruby-crowned kinglet with crown feathers in the ‘down’ position. Both photos shot less than 60 seconds apart. Unless you are looking down at the bird, the red crown is very easy to miss. At first I thought I was looking at a warbler. (The bird is barely 4 inches long.) January 2026.