Golden-crowned Kinglet Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesGolden-crowned Kinglet
Adult male
Tiny songbird with a rounded body, short wings, and a skinny tail. Adult males have a black-and-white striped face and bright yellow and orange crown patch.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 05, 2016Adult female
Adult females have an all-yellow crown patch, lacking the orange found in males.
© Matthew Eckerson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, November 23, 2019Adult
Tiny songbird with nervous, twitchy foraging style, given to hanging acrobatically from thin branches and twigs.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryApril 01, 1999Adult male
Tiny songbird with a small bill. Adult males flash their orange crown when excited; otherwise it is usually concealed.
© Jacob McGinnis / Macaulay LibraryWashington, March 04, 2017Juvenile
Juveniles look like messy adults without the head stripes and crown colors.
© Gaetan Dupont / Macaulay LibraryWashington, August 08, 2017Adult
Call is a very high, thin series of whistles, usually given three at a time.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryArkansas, February 01, 2005Adult male
Tiny with a small bill and skinny tail. Olive above with yellow edges on the wings and tail. Adult males usually conceal their orange crown.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, January 16, 2017Adult
Tiny with a round belly. Grayish white below and olive above with a black-and-white striped face and yellow crown. Note black legs and yellow feet.
© Jason Vassallo / Macaulay LibraryWashington, December 30, 2016Habitat
Found primarily in evergreen forests, often in the canopy.
© Logan Korte / Macaulay LibrarySouth Dakota, March 08, 2017Similar SpeciesRuby-crowned Kinglet
Adult male
Ruby-crowned Kinglets have an eyering whereas Golden-crowned Kinglets have black-and-white stripes on their faces. If visible, adult males have a bright red (not golden) crown.
© Paul Jacyk / Macaulay LibraryOhio, April 04, 2017Similar SpeciesRuby-crowned Kinglet
Adult
Ruby-crowned Kinglets have an eyering unlike Golden-crowned Kinglets, which have black-and-white stripes on the face. They also have buffy flanks whereas Golden-crowned have grayish flanks.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 06, 2016Similar SpeciesBrown Creeper
Adult/immature
Brown Creepers don’t look much like Golden-crowned Kinglets, but their habitat and calls are similar. Kinglet calls are usually slightly shorter and repeated several times, while Brown Creeper calls are longer, descend slightly, and waver a bit.
© David Turgeon / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 25, 2017Compare with Similar Species
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