For the birds: Golden-crowned Kinglets - the olive-green birds with the strikingly marked face

Golden-crowned Kinglet at bath
Photo by Christine Southwick

By Christine Southwick

Which is the smallest local songbird you are likely to see in your yard?  (Hummingbirds are not considered songbirds, even though our Anna’s are quite vocal.) 

This local bird is even smaller than Bushtits. Give up? It’s the kinglet with the black stripe through the eye and a white eyebrow, the Golden-crowned Kinglet. Both male and female Golden-crowned Kinglets have a yellow crown, but only the male has an orange center that is usually hidden. That center is only erected when the male becomes excited.

Crown of male Golden-crowned Kinglet
Photo by Christine Southwick

Golden-crowned Kinglets are active little birds that usually stay in the upper canopy of dense coniferous forest, or densely wooded urban areas. Golden-crowned Kinglets, with their narrow insectivorous bills are considered important predators of insects, insect eggs, and small spiders that are found in evergreens. They prefer to build their nests 50 feet up, making their nests for five to ten eggs hard to find. Seasonally monogamous, the male feeds the female while she broods her eggs, then both parents feed their off-spring.

They are more easily seen in the winter, when they often forage with other birds and when their insect meals are found lower. In cold weather they may be sighted foraging on the ground, which always surprises local viewers. Some of the Golden-crowned Kinglets are year-round residents here, but others come from northern Canada and Alaska to winter here.

Female Golden-crowned Kinglet, Note yellow feet.
Photo courtesy Puget Sound Bird Observ.

Classified songbirds, they really don’t have a song — they have a single high-pitched call note, which they repeat. Golden-crowned Kinglets are a study in motion, constantly flicking their wings which have two wingbars. They are able to hover under or in front of branches, and often fly out to catch insects. Their flight is quick and fluttery, and their quick movements make focusing binoculars on a Golden-crowned Kinglet a challenge. If one stays stationary long enough, you might even be able to see their yellow feet at the end of their black legs.

Flowering trees, willows, both small and large, and evergreen shrubs and trees will make your yard attractive to these birds. Since they eat lots of tiny insects, don’t use insecticides. And if you want them to nest in your area, keep those tall coniferous trees, so that they can build their nests at their preferred height of 50 feet or more. Moving water will also bring them down where you can see them.