Forest and Rangeland Birds of the United States
Natural History and Habitat Use
Golden-crowned Kinglet -- Regulus satrapa
RANGE: Breeds from southern Alaska to northern Alberta, southern Quebec,
and Newfoundland south in the coastal and interior mountains to southern and eastern
California, southern Utah, south-central New Mexico, Mexico, Guatemala, and east
of the Rockies to southern Manitoba, north-central Michigan, New York, eastern
Tennessee, western North Carolina, northern New Jersey, and southern Maine. Winters
from south-coastal Alaska and southern Canada south to northern Baja California,
through the breeding range to Guatemala, the Gulf Coast, and central Florida.
STATUS: Common in parts of its range; has declined in western regions.
HABITAT: Breeds primarily in dense coniferous forests, especially where
spruce is present. Winters in coniferous forests and occasionally in deciduous
woodland scrub and brush.
NEST: Builds a globular nest with entrance at the top, woven into the
twigs of a horizontal limb of a conifer.
FOOD: Forages over leaves, branches, and trunks, feeding almost entirely
on insects and their eggs (bark beetles, scale insects) and especially plant
lice. In summer, feeds mainly on flying insects.
REFERENCES: Bent 1949, DeGraff et al. 1980, Forbush and May 1955, Tate
and Tate 1982, Terres 1980.
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