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Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Regulus calendula
Regulidae
Only male has ruby crown
Crest raised when male excited by rival or predator
Crest fully raised
Female does not have ruby crown but broken eyering is prominent
Flicks wings constantly while foraging
Looks frantic flitting from branch to branch
Broken eyering on a plain face distinguishes it from...
...Golden-crowned Kinglet with black and white striped face
Female may produce single clutch of up to 12 eggs
Male feeds female while she incubates eggs
Both parents feed young
All fledglings look like female
Feeds on seeds after breeding
In fruiting rambler rose in October

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been recorded during October, November and December at Salter Grove.  It was first seen foraging in the lower branches of a small American Elm along Upland Trail in October 2020.   Its habit of constantly flicking its wings and the conspicuously white broken eyeing made identification easy each time it was sighted.  It is smaller than a Black-capped Chickadee and slightly larger than the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 

During the breeding season, they are common in coniferous spruce-fir forests in the northern and western regions of North America.  They may also nest in mixed or deciduous forest with dense stands of tall trees.  During migration and the winter months, however, they can be found in woods and thickets across the continent.

it is impressive that a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet weighs less than half an ounce and yet may lay as many as 12 eggs. Granted that kinglet eggs are tiny at a fiftieth of an ounce--a chicken egg weighs 2 to 2.5 ounces--a clutch can add up to the female's body weight.  The female does all the incubating and the male feeds her until chicks have hatched.  Unsurprisingly, only one brood is attempted per season.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the similar Golden-crowned Kinglet are named after the color of their respective red and yellow crowns.  Unfortunately this feathery crest is absent in the Ruby-crowned females and is only displayed by excited male kinglets while defending a territory from rivals or predators.  Other features are more helpful for distinguishing migrating kinglets at Salter Grove. 

The two kinglets are behaviorally distinct in how they forage for insects.  The Ruby-crowned Kinglet characteristically flicks its wings as it moves frantically from branch to branch and is more prone to hover or fly out to catch insects on the wing.  The Golden-crowned Kinglet, on the other hand, stays within dense foliage and often hangs upside down from the tips of twigs as it gleans for insect.  Another helpful difference is the Ruby-crowned's habit of foraging in lower tree branches and shrubs.  In contrast, the Golden-crowned Kinglet favors higher perches.