Golden-crowned Kinglet

Here is another avian casualty involving a collision with our living room window. Remember early this summer we had a Ruby-crowned kinglet that flew into the window? It was the first time seeing the Ruby-crowned. Yesterday I discovered this Golden-crowned in the path by the window.

Adults are olive-gray on the upper parts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black. The adult male has an orange patch in the middle of the yellow crown.

Their breeding habitat is coniferous forests. They nest in a well-concealed hanging cup suspended from a conifer branch.

These birds migrate to the United States. Some birds are permanent residents in coastal regions and in the southern parts of their range. Northern birds remain further north in winter than the Ruby-crowned kinglet.

They forage actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and spiders.