One of the things I like best about winter is the birds that arrive here to spend the season in warmer weather – like this itty bitty beauty, the Golden-crowned Kinglet.

This little cutie showed up yesterday, flitting in and out of the pine needles, in search of a snack. These birds are fast and fidgetty, which makes it hard to get a picture where they are in the frame and in focus. I shall call it a success that I managed to get a couple of shots to share so you can at least see what they look like!

Both the males and females have a golden head stripe that they can flare into a fiery-orange flame when they get agitated or are trying to appear intimidating.

Their crimson-crowned cousin (the Ruby-crowned Kinglet) also winters here and has been showing up pretty often. These tiny twitchers are equally as hard to get pictures of! In their case, only the fellas have crowns, which they usually keep concealed, unless they are flirting or fighting. You can see just a hint of this guy’s red head feathers in the picture below, where he was warding off an unwelcome Warbler.

I hope they both decide that my backyard is a wonderful place to spend the winter, and that in return for my offering them food and shelter, they will reward me with at least one photo session where they strike a royal stance and pose with crowns exposed!