By Sally Siko
Here’s another pair of hyperactive feathered ping-pong balls, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets!
I photographed these tiny dynamos earlier this week while birding near my home in central North Carolina.
It was so cool to watch the two species interacting. One thing was clear though, the birds weren’t particularly fond of each other as they’ed often get into spats over food.
Zipping high and low, the Rubys and Golden-crowns yelled and dove, each bird attempting to assert its dominance over the rival.
Eventually the Golden-crowned flock flew up into the longleaf Pine canopy above my head leaving the Ruby’s to continue forging below.
Weighing in at 5-6g, both Ruby and Golden crowned Kinglets are among the family of the smallest passerine birds in the world. Since their tiny size poses high energetic demands on thermoregulation, one would think that a Kinglet should face real challenges of maintaining energy balance during the winter.
In fact, how they maintain those hyperactive energy levels in the colder months, is still a mystery to researchers.
However, it has been found that Kinglets help reduce the extreme energy crunch imposed by fighting the effects of cold temperatures by huddling together at night or by sometimes sleeping in sheltered locations such as insulated squirrel or abandoned bird nests.
In addition, studies have shown that Kinglets possess a uniquely slow metabolic rate (for its size) and only require 10 calories a day to function which likely helps aid in the survival of this lovely species in even the chilliest of habitats.
Remarkable!
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5
