Animalia Life

Regulus satrapa
SUBFAMILY
Sylviinae
TAXONOMY
Regulus satrapa Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Roitelet а couronne dorйe; German: Satrap; Spanish: Reyezuelo Corona Dorada.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3–4 in (8–11 cm); 0.1–0.3 oz (4–7.5 g). Among smallest of all songbirds; olive-green with two whitish wing bars, and a white eye line surmounted by black lateral crown stripes and a yellow crown. Male has orange central crown feathers that are usually concealed.
DISTRIBUTION
Breeds from Nearctic boreal zone south through New England and Appalachians in eastern United States, Rockies, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, Chiricahuas in West. Resident populations in mountains of Mexico, Guatemala. Winters south to Northeastern Mexico.
HABITAT
Dense conifers above 6,560 ft (2,000 m) in Mexico. Sometimes in deciduous forest in winter.
BEHAVIOR
Very active, often hangs upside down. Voice includes a high thin call note and song, given by both sexes, consisting of a series of ascending notes, sometimes followed by a descending warble. Male defends territory with song, and song-displays (crown raised, tail and wing flicking). Often joins mixed-species flocks in fall and winter.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Mostly small insects, spiders, and arthropod eggs; occasionally sap, rarely fruit. Occasionally hover-gleans.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Serially monogamous. Pair bond is maintained through breeding season. Nest, built by both sexes, is a deep hanging cup of moss, lichens, bark, spider webs and other plant material, attached to hanging twigs near trunk, placed high in conifer. Eight to nine (sometimes 5-11) eggs. Incubation by female only (14-15 days). Nestlings are fed by both parents, and leave the nest after 14-19 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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