Mystery Bird: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula

Looks like a diminutive member of royalty who seldom shows his crown-this one sports a particularly gnarly set of slippers.

Got it, but I don't want to let the cat out of the bag. Fieldmarks include almond-shaped white eyering broken at the top, black primary and secondary bases, greenish remix edgings, tiny bill. But...what the heck's it doing on the ground?

The teeny-weeny bill on a tubby-chubby body is also a giveaway! My goodness they are adorable. They're like vireos but without full spectacles.

Question - are the yellow booties specific to this species, to the little napoleons in general?

The combination of the "booties" and the lack of bold facial stripes identifies the species. January 24, 41 AD marked this.

carel, Even tho this bird has the "little boots" that would make you think of an king (or at least a little one), I think it's not so much the 24th of that month, but the first of any month (at least if you are Roman) or a sort of Marigold.

Jana -- the yellow feet are characteristic of both species of this group here in the states. (Quite useful, anywhere Hutton's Vireo is a possibility -- they have dark feet.) I don't have a reference for the old-world members of the family.

Hmm, from the Napoleon comment, I was going to go with Emperor Penguin. But somehow, the beak is just a tad small, I think. And the posture doesn't quite work.

The body, beak, and most coloring looks like a Ruby Crowned Kinglet to me. The white partial eye-ring and the white bar on the wing, along with the color seem right. When I looked on the web earlier, the feet didn't look right, but looking at home in Sibley's, they look pretty yellow in contrast to the darker legs.

Femal or juvenile? Or would a male without the crown raised have a crown that didn't look at all crownish?

So cute, it'll make your head explode.

Bardiac -- this could be an adult male -- they only show the red when they erect the feathers.

Pete Moulton: the most remarkable thing about this image (i thought) was that this bird was on the ground .. i've never seen that, so of course, i had to add this image to my mystery bird portfolio.