We have two species of Kinglets in North America. the Ruby-crowned and the Golden-crowned. I’ve fortunately had both recently visiting my backyard foraging the evergreens, so how cool to share them together in one post for comparisons.
I’ve photographed the Ruby-crowned Kinglet several times in years prior, so I’ll start with the Golden-crowned. It’s more befitting for another reason too….
Welcome to my bird lifer list #245 Golden-crowned Kinglet! 🤗
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
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Above was my first photo taken, definitely blurry; but as I was taking that shot, I saw that yellow crest and knew I had to stay with this bird if I could. It took 16 more shots to get the next two.
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Golden-crowned Kinglet (lifer #245)
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I could not believe it flew to the evergreen closest to me!
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
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The Ruby-crowned Kinglets have been around for several weeks, so I’ve had many more opportunities with them to share some pretty compositions.
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet (my favorite shot ever!)
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
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Whereas both male and female Golden-crowned Kinglets have a yellow crest and display it at all times, only the male Ruby-crowned has the red crest and only displays it when he is excitedly courting a mate, or challenging a competitor or predator.
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
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No luck with me catching the rare opportunity of a Ruby-crown’s red crest; but that could be a good thing, they feel safe and comfortable in my backyard for the time being. Or maybe there isn’t a male in my visitors. 😏
