Episode 48: Ruby-Crowned Kinglet – Voice of the Wild

Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula).

The kinglet that hides its crest (most of the time).

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The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode: 

• Ruby-crowned kinglet song by Matthew D. Medler (ML508543) 
• Ruby-crowned kinglet "jeedeet" call by Gerrit Vyn (ML508564) 
• Ruby-crowned kinglet second call by Wil Hershberger (ML508556) 
• Golden-crowned kinglet song by William W. H. Gunn (ML508539) 

Sources and more: 

• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet  
• https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ruby-crowned-kinglet  
• Dobson C, Kassenbaum D, Oehmke D, et al. 2023. Field guide to hotspots and birds in Illinois. Champaign-Urbana: Scissortail LLC.
• National Audubon Society videoguide to the birds of North America. 2004. Fullscreen. Carrboro, NC: Godfrey-Stadin Productions.
• Peterson RT, Peterson VM. 1980. A field guide to the birds : a completely new guide to all the birds of eastern and central North America. Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company (The Peterson field guide series ; 1).
• Sibley D. 2016. Sibley birds East : field guide to birds of eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (Field guide to birds of eastern North America).

What is Voice of the Wild?

If you learn to listen for them, you will find wildlife everywhere. Voice of the Wild is a podcast about wildlife and the wild sounds they make. Tune in every Friday to learn a new bird song, frog call, or insect noise.

This is Illinois Extension’s Voice of the Wild. A new wild voice in just a moment, so find someplace quiet, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

My favorite field guide - a somewhat dated Peterson Eastern Birds- describes this creature as a “tiny stub-tailed birdlet” which I think is a bit harsh, though it is a quite small bird with a fairly short tail. It is easiest to find in migration when it joins with flocks of warblers and chickees foraging through budding trees as they are all heading north. The bird is named for its crest, which is unfortunate, because it keeps that crest hidden unless it is very excited or perhaps a little cross.

This is the ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) from the family Regulidae

The ruby crowned is far harder to find in winter than its sibling, the golden-crowned kinglet, but during migration, you can find both birds readily. It is easy to differentiate the two by sound; the ruby-crowned kinglet’s “Jeedeet” call is characteristic. And where the tense rise of the golden-crowned’s song is followed by a relaxed fall, the ruby crowned’s is followed by an intense but musical mess of notes.

Be careful IDing these kinglets by their crown, as this is unfortunately not always diagnostic at a distance, that’s because the golden crowneds sometimes have a very strong tinge of red and sometimes the bird simply won’t give you a good look at the top of its head. If that’s the case - look at the eye. The ruby-crowned will have an eyering and the golden-crowned an eye line. Here’s the ruby-crowned kinglet again.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for our bird sounds. And thank you for tuning in to learn a new wild voice with Illinois Extension.