Ruby-crowned kinglet
Corthylio calendula (Linnaeus, 1766)
Status not recordedsongbirds
The ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) is a species in the family Regulidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 6.19 g to 6.7 g and live up to 5.6 years.

Quick facts about the ruby-crowned kinglet
- Weight
- 6.19 g – 6.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 5.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 12 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the ruby-crowned kinglet live?
Not recorded
What is the ruby-crowned kinglet?
The ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) is a very small passerine bird found throughout North America. It is a member of the kinglet family. The bird has olive-green plumage with two white wing bars and a white eye-ring. Males have a red crown patch, which is often concealed. The sexes are identical apart from the crown, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adult females. It is one of the smallest songbirds in North America. The ruby-crowned kinglet is not closely related to other kinglets and was moved from Regulus to its own genus, Corthylio, in 2021. Three subspecies are currently recognized.
The kinglet is mostly migratory, and its range extends from northwest Canada and Alaska south to Mexico. Its breeding habitat is spruce-fir forests in the northern and mountainous regions of the United States and Canada. The ruby-crowned kinglet builds a cup-shaped nest, which may be pensile or placed on a tree branch and is often hidden. It lays up to 12 eggs, and has the largest clutch of any North American passerine for its size. It is mainly insectivorous, but also eats fruits and seeds.
From the Wikipedia article “Ruby-crowned kinglet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruby-crowned_kinglet&oldid=1380703397), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ruby-crowned kinglet endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the ruby-crowned kinglet classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyRegulidae
- genusCorthylio
- SpeciesCorthylio calendula (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Motacilla calendula, Regulus calenda, Regulus calendula
Other names and names in other languages (50)
- RickyEnglish
- CikwicAtikamekw
- Американско кралчеBulgarian
- Dreolan kabell ruzBreton
- reietó americàCatalan
- Рубин вуян кож кӓзӓляMari
- králíček americkýCzech
- Dryw corunrhuddemWelsh
- RubinfuglekongeDanish
- RubingoldhähnchenGerman
- rubenkrona regoloEsperanto
- ReyezueloSpanish
- Reyezuelo de moño rojoSpanish
- Reyezuelo de rojoSpanish
- Reyezuelo MatraquitaSpanish
- Reyezuelo rubíSpanish
- rubiin-pöialpoissEstonian
- سسک تاجیاقوتیPersian
- rubiinihippiäinenFinnish
- Krúnureyður títlingskongurFaroese
- Roitelet à couronne rubisFrench
- Ti Kouwòn woujHaitian Creole
- מלכילון אמריקניHebrew
- crvenokruni kraljićCroatian
- rubinfejű királykaHungarian
- RauðkollurIcelandic
- Regolo americanoItalian
- ルビアキクイタダキJapanese
- ルビーキクイタダキJapanese
- Raudongalvis nykštukasLithuanian
- raudonvainikis nykštukasLithuanian
- sarkangalvītisLatvian
- Tsiitʼáád halchíiʼii yázhíNavajo
- RoodkroonhaanDutch
- Ojikomishi (Coowensh)Ojibwa
- ogniczekPolish
- سندوری سر تاجیWestern Panjabi
- estrelinha-de-fogoPortuguese
- estrelinha-de-coroa-rubiPortuguese
- Рубиновоголовый королёкRussian
- RubinloddegonagasNorthern Sami
- králik rubínovohlavýSlovak
- rubinastoglavi kraljičekSlovenian
- Američki crvenoglavi kraljićSerbian
- rödkronad kungsfågelSwedish
- Gözlüklü ÇalıkuşuTurkish
- Yakut tepeli çalı kuşuTurkish
- золотомушка рубіновочубаUkrainian
- 红冠戴菊Chinese
- 紅玉冠戴菊Chinese
Relatives of the ruby-crowned kinglet
Other species in the same family Regulidae.

Goldcrest
Regulus regulus

Common firecrest
Regulus ignicapilla

Golden-crowned kinglet
Regulus satrapa

Madeira firecrest
Regulus madeirensis

Flamecrest
Regulus goodfellowi
CompareRuby-crowned kinglet vs GoldcrestRuby-crowned kinglet vs Common firecrestRuby-crowned kinglet vs Golden-crowned kingletRuby-crowned kinglet vs Madeira firecrest
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the ruby-crowned kinglet?
An adult ruby-crowned kinglet weighs 6.19 g – 6.7 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
How long does the ruby-crowned kinglet live?
The ruby-crowned kinglet has a recorded lifespan of 5.6 years.
What kind of animal is the ruby-crowned kinglet?
The ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) belongs to the family Regulidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruby-crowned-kinglet
“Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruby-crowned-kinglet.
@misc{ruby_crowned_kinglet_2026,
title = {Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruby-crowned-kinglet},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}