Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)

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Abundance: Uncommon during spring and fall and Fairly Common during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from Regional bird-monitoring projects are somewhat limited, making determination of the Regional population trend tenuous, but it is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident; photograph [ventral view of adult] (Carol D. Williams; DeKalb County, Tennessee; December 2005).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 121 (23 December 2010; Cumberland County, Tennessee [Crossville CBC]; m. ob.); see also Remarks (below).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: x (

    Late Spring: x (

Note: Fall arrival generally widespread by 20 October; spring departure usually fairly complete by 10 April.  Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure during winters from 2002–2003 to 2011–2012 follow:

Habitat: Highly attracted to forested areas with a sizable component of evergreens, but may occur in many other situations, both forested and fragmented, especially during the southward fall and northward spring migrations.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 15 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 21 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Uncommon during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification is consistent with the overall Regional abundance classification during spring and fall but not during winter.

Remarks: The High Count (above) was achieved by 16 observers in 7–9 parties expending 73.75 party hours of effort.  Where optimal Habitat (above) for this species is present in large areas, counts of 100+ individuals can be achieved with far less effort.  For example, in the vicinity of Twin Arches, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Pickett and Scott counties, Tennessee, 11 January 2000, a count of 118 Golden-crowns was made in 7.5 hrs by one observer; also, a count of 115 Golden-crowns was made 7 November 1998 by one observer in 6.2 hrs along the Pilot-Wines horse trail near Station Camp, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Scott County, Tennessee (Stedman and Stedman 2002).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited