Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

The Golden-Crowned Kinglet has a wide distribution across North America, but is often a difficult bird to find. We usually find it in at high elevations in coniferous woodlands. In summer, many of these birds migrate to southern Canada. Some Golden-Crowned Kinglets remain on territories in coastal southern Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, and northeastern USA and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Those birds breeding in southern Canada migrate south and spend winters across most of the USA, some even into northeastern Mexico. Southern central Mexico hosts a nonmigratory population of these birds.

Despite a relatively brief breeding season, these birds often raise two broods a season. Considering typical clutches are eight eggs, this is quite a feat. As soon as the first brood fledges, the male takes over the care and feeding duties, while the female begins incubating the second set of eggs.

Today’s science recognises six subspecies of Golden-Crowned Kinglets. R. s. olivaceus breeds west the Cascade Range from coastal southern Alaska to southern Oregon and Northern California. R. s. amoenus breeds from Alaska (Kenai Peninsula) to central Yukon (Canada), and south to the Rocky Mountains. R. s. satrapa breeds from Alberta to Newfoundland (Canada), and south through New England and the Appalachian Mountains as far as Tennessee and North Carolina. R. s. apache breeds in southern Arizona. R. s. aztecus is resident in central and southern Mexico. R. s. clarus is resident in southern Mexico.