Golden-crowned Kinglet, mid-hop

Regulus satrapa

Golden-crowned Kinglet · Snoqualmie · 4 October 2025

A Golden-crowned Kinglet caught mid-hop between fir branches in the Cascades in October. It is a bird of conifer forest across the mountains and the north, and one of the hardiest: they winter as far north as Canada, surviving nights well below freezing by huddling together in the foliage.

Kinglets rarely pause for more than a second or two while foraging, and a still frame of one in the open is as much luck as timing. One of the smallest songbirds in North America, lighter than a chickadee. The crown, hidden at this angle, is yellow on a female and yellow with an orange centre on a male, and only shows properly when the bird raises it.