[obol] More on Ruby-crowned Kinglets, their feet, and subspecies

[Lars Skalnes]

I thought the following on Ruby-crowned Kinglets from The Birds of North
America Online might be of some interest. Browning 1979 (see citation below)
seems to be the main authority on geographic variation in kinglets:
 
"May also be confused with Dwarf Vireo (V. nelsoni) in Mexico. Both Hutton's
and Dwarf vireos are more heavily built, larger headed, with stouter bills,
stout blue-gray legs and feet (kinglet has yellow feet), whitish lores
(which creates a different facial expression), and have a black bar between
the wingbars, instead of distal to the wingbars as in the kinglet (Kaufman
1979
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/DISTINGUISHIN
G_CHARACTERISTICS.html#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_DISTINGUISHING_CHARACTERISTICS_D
EFAULT_DEFAULT> , 1993
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/DISTINGUISHIN
G_CHARACTERISTICS.html#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_DISTINGUISHING_CHARACTERISTICS_D
EFAULT_DEFAULT> , Paulsen
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/DISTINGUISHIN
G_CHARACTERISTICS.html#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_DISTINGUISHING_CHARACTERISTICS_D
EFAULT_DEFAULT> 1993, Howell
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/DISTINGUISHIN
G_CHARACTERISTICS.html#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_DISTINGUISHING_CHARACTERISTICS_D
EFAULT_DEFAULT> and Webb in press)."
 
"Legs and feet: Medium brown, paling to yellowish brown on dorsum of toes.
Underside of feet yellow, tinged slightly with orange (GEW)."
 
"Geographic variation of continental populations has been reviewed by
Browning (1979
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_GEOGRAPHIC_VARIATION_DEFAULT> ). Birds
from s. Alaska south to sw. British Columbia (designated as subspecies
grinnelli) have significantly shorter wings than other populations. Overlap
exists between continental populations in wing chord and tail measurements.
Birds from California and Arizona have longest wings and tails (R. Browning
pers. comm.). Coloration is similar in all populations except grinnelli,
which is darker."
 
"Five subspecies recognized (Am.
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> Ornithol. Union
1957, Phillips
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> 1964): R. c.
calendula breeds from nw. Alaska across n. Canada and northern tier of U.S.;
R. c. obscurus was formerly resident on Guadalupe I., off Baja California
(Jehl
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> and Everett 1985,
Oberbauer
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> et al. 1989); R. c.
grinnelli breeds from coastal regions of Alaska to s. British Columbia,
including Vancouver I.; R. c. cineraceus breeds from s.-central British
Columbia and w. Montana south through the mountains of California and
Arizona; Phillips (1964
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> ) merged cineraceus
with nominate race calendula and described a new subspecies, R. c.
arizonensis, from the mountains of Arizona. Hubbard and Crossin (1974
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> ) and Browning
(1979
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> ) concluded that
neither cineraceus nor arizonensis can be separated from the nominate race
calendula. We agree with Browning's (1979
<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/SYSTEMATICS.h
tml#Ruby-crowned_Kinglet_SYSTEMATICS_SUBSPECIES_DEFAULT> ) assertion that
only 2 continental subspecies, calendula and grinnelli, can be identified."
 
M. R. Browning 1979. A review of geographic variation in continental
populations of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). Nemouria 21:
1-9."
 
 
Lars Skalnes
1818 Fircrest Drive
Eugene, OR 97403
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