Another bird to add to the birds-seen-from-my-apartment-window tag (probably not a real tag) is the ruby-crowned kinglet, Regulus calendula, seen about 30 minutes ago from my bedroom window. Perfect for a #featheredfriday post!
The ruby-crowned kinglet is another winter visitor where I live. In my experience, this bird is usually heard before spotted - the kinglet gives a distinct call that sounds like someone furiously typing on an old typewriter. I have never heard the kinglet's song in person because they are only winter visitors and aren't singing this time of year, but I have heard it on the All About Birds website and it is pretty cute!
After hearing this bird announce himself, you can usually find him flitting around in the canopy of trees gleaning insects from the foliage. They do not stay still for very long at all, so I rarely am able to get a photo. They are notorious for being non-stop movers while feeding.
Lucky for me, this fella was foraging in the leaf litter directly under my window. Normally I would have to shoot through the glass or through the screen, but today I was able to take advantage of the broken screen that one of our cats pushed out of the frame last week (he almost gave me a heart attack when I caught him straddling the window frame and the loose screen which looked about to fall out). I was able to stick my camera lens straight down to where he was hopping around. He occasionally looked up at me, but mostly paid me no mind.
The kinglet is named for the bright red crown of the males. They usually have this hidden and only flash it when agitated or excited. This guy started to expose his just before he took off. I hope to one day get a photo of a full-on crown flash.
Some other distinguishing field marks of the ruby-crowned kinglet include a white wingbar with a wider dark wingbar underneath, a broken eye-ring with dark eye, and yellow along the edges of the tail and wing feathers. The rest of the body is an olive color and they have a cute, little, pointed beak.
I haven't had the energy to go out birding, so it makes me happy to be able to do a little from the warmth of my bedroom from time to time.
And if you were curious about the window screen....
I guess I will be taking advantage of this until our apartment fixes it.
