Female ruby-crowned kinglets such as this deserve to be crowned winners for laying perhaps the largest clutch of eggs of any tiny bird who runs a tiny nest – they can lay up to 12 eggs, according to reports. Yet, despite their names and accomplishments, female ruby-crowned kinglets have no crowns. It doesn’t seem right.
Male ruby-crowned kinglets have the red crowns. (To be fair, these males do hide their crowns most of the time, but they’ll flare them up and get majestic when they see an attractive female or otherwise get excited.) And don’t forget that both the male and female of our only other kinglet (small king) species, the orange-crowned kinglet, have crowns. But not the forgotten female ruby-crowned kinglet, who is royal in her special, tiny, 4.25” way.