Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Ruby-crowned Kinglets are pretty common in migration in South Dakota, and a bird I see quite a bit. While I do have a number of photos of them, I'm still waiting for a chance to get a photo of one with that trademark ruby crown raised in alarm or display. Maybe I'm just too nice and don't irk the birds enough for them to raise it in alarm! My favorite photo of the species is the one below, from Newton Hills State Park. I love the setting with the eastern red cedar (juniper) and "berries", as it's a type of habitat where I often see them in migration. This also represents one of the few photos I have of Ruby-crowned Kinglets where there's even a tiny hint of that red crown.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula


Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
October 11th, 2010	October 5th, 2008	May 15th, 2005	October 15th, 2006
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Great Bear Recreation Area near Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Kinglet posing in an eastern red cedar with berry cluster	Bird showing hint of ruby crown as it forages	Kinglet actually sitting still amidst fresh spring foliage	Profile of migrating bird perched in small bush

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8
October 15th, 2006	October 5th, 2008	October 5th, 2008	vOctober 5th, 2008
Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Minnehaha County, South Dakota
Profile of kinglet posing in late evening sun	Bird foraging in streamside habitat	Profile of kinglet perched on a dead branch	Profile of kinglet perched on a dead branch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 11	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12
October 1st, 2010	October 1st, 2010	October 1st, 2010	October 1st, 2010
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Bird foraging in eastern red cedar (juniper) tree	Bird perched amidst foliage and fruit	Kinglet turning its head to give tiny glimpse of the namesake ruby crown	Alert bird posing on cedar tree branch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 14	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 15	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 16
October 1st, 2010	October 1st, 2010	October 1st, 2010	October 11th, 2010
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Kinglet foraging in eastern red cedar (juniper) tree	Vertical of bird in eastern red cedar tree	Inquisitive Kinglet responding to birder "pishing"	Kinglet with eastern red cedar tree fruit

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 17	Ruby-crowned Kinglet 18
September 14th, 2014	October 12th, 2020
Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota	Newton Hills State Park, South Dakota
Kinglet perched in eastern red cedar tree	Profile of bird perched on the end of a dead branch