Species Profile: Golden-Crowned Kinglet The Golden-crowned Kinglet is an aristocrat by name and by nature. The Latin or botanical name for this diminutive bird is Regulus satrapa meaning "king wearing a golden crown". Both sexes are brightly crowned, the female in yellow, the male in orange with a possible red flash through the centre. In both males and females, the crown is encircled in a wreath of black. The back is olive-green to grey, the wings marked with two white bars and the underparts are pale grey. The eyes are smudged in black and punctuated by a whitish eyebrow stripe. The bill is black and slender, the tail is short and stubby. At 3 1/2 inches from tip to tip, Golden-crowned Kinglets are smaller than warblers. Also unlike warblers they flick their wings, giving the impression of being constantly in motion. These active little birds have high caloric demands and seem to eat constantly. They often hover beside twigs or leaves to snatch up aphids or bark beetles. Like tiny search missiles they can zero in on winged insects, dodging pine needles and making their capture in flight. They can also be seen hanging precariously from the ends of branches in search of insect larvae. Golden-crowned Kinglets are widespread throughout North America. They winter in Florida and the Gulf Coast, but travel north in the spring to breed anywhere from southern Alaska to northeastern Canada. Evergreen forests constitute their traditional breeding grounds, but Golden-crowns are slowly expanding their range into spruce plantations. In June and July, the male and female form a cooperative pair to build and maintain a globular nest of moss, lichens and spider webs. The nest is lined with down feathers, fur and soft bark. The birds enter and exit through a hole in the top. Golden-crowned nests are often found nestled among the twigs of coniferous trees anywhere from five to 60 feet above the ground. Kinglets are spectacular breeders laying as many as nine eggs each year. Each egg is elliptical (13 x 10 mm), non-glossy and cream-coloured with brown or grey spots, and takes 14-15 days to hatch. Emerging naked and helpless from their protective shells, by summer's end the chicks have acquired the bright crown plumage of their parents. The song (seldom heard, even during the breeding season) is a series of high-pitched, ascending see-see-see-see notes followed by a similar but louder descending note pattern. The call note is commonly a very high tsee-tsee-tsee. Golden-crowned Kinglets are a favourite with FLAP members, especially Carolynn Parke who finds them far too often on her day-time missions around mirrored buildings. Carolynn took one particularly fiesty Golden-crown to the Avicare Bird Rehabilitation Centre for banding and release. After Avicare's Hilary Pittel had banded the tiny bird he wriggled free and took off around the clinic. Unfazed by his surroundings, he perched on top of an opened door like a crowned king on his throne and started pecking away at his new piece of jewellery. Most birds appear oblivious to the tiny identification bands, but this kinglet was adamant to get it off. Finally, he gave up the protest and was released into the wild. Deborah Buehler Deborah is a Master of Science student in Zoology at the University of Toronto. She spent this past summer studying rainforest passerines in Panama.