Kinglets Come and Go

In many temperate zones, birds of the genus Regulus are among the first to arrive in spring and the last to pass through come fall. In North America, Ruby-crowned (Regulus calendula) and Golden-crowned (Regulus satrapa) Kinglets essentially herald both spring and winter. These “petty kings” are frenetic feeders that hop manically, often in mixed flocks, from branch to branch.

Spotting fall’s last flight of kinglets often moves me to melancholy, or worse. A few years back, a Regulus rendezvous inspired me to pen a rather violent verse which was on the old blog but never made the migration to WordPress:

A kinglet is named for its crown,
Which can hardly be seen from the ground,
If the bird is above,
You can give it a shove,
And look at its dome while it’s down!

It should go without saying that accosting kinglets is very bad form, as is my poetry!

That’s not funny…

• For more excellent Ruby-crowned Kinglet shots, check out Corey’s gorgeous gallery
• For better bird limericks, check out our reader-submitted anthology