Kinglets

There are two kinds of Kinglets in North America, Golden-Crowned and the Ruby-crowned.  Both of these little birds are only three and a half inches long.   Kinglets, while relaxed don’t display more than a very narrow strip of the color on their head.   But when they are trying to impress or intimidate another bird, they flare the feathers on top of their head to display either the golden or ruby colors.   Female golden-crowned kinglets only have a lemon yellow color surrounded by black on her head.  Males have the same yellow but in the middle of the yellow, there is a bright orange spot.      Ruby-crowned kinglets only display red and without any black surrounding feathers.  

Golden-crowned Kinglets live in the boreal forest high in the Tamarac and other conifers. They feed on insects and thus have a very small flat beak. 

Motivation

I was lucky enough to have a whole flock of these wonderful tiny birds stop to check me out during a hike. Because I was so taken by their beauty and energy that I wanted to share my excitement and appreciation with other people who may not have ever seen a Golden-Crowned Kinglet. I carved eight of these little birds during this project.  My goal was to make them more animated in their positions.  Thus you will see different wing configurations. Relaxed wings droop to the sides and below the tail.  Birds that are turning their heads far to one side will often twist their wings off to one side.    

The process

As usual, the process started with a clay model after drawing the pattern.  Some of the birds sit upon cherry burl bases while others are on pieces of driftwood that I thought would make an interesting presentation.   I designed three of the Kinglets to sit on a flat surface and the rest are to be hung on the wall.  One of the wall mounts has both a male and a female Kinglet.   

Golden-Crowned Kinglet Pictures

I hope that you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the process of carving and painting these beautiful little birds.

You can see that the golden-crowned kinglet carvings are almost completely painted but still on the painting handles.

Finished male and female Golden-Crowned Kinglets

What a great color pattern!

Beyond the golden crown, these birds have a distinct white wing bar and a dark spot right behind the bar.

Cute little male on driftwood suitable for a shelf.

A wall mounted Kinglet on driftwood.

Another wall mount

Third wall mount