This is Bird Note.

It's spring, and the ruby-crowned kinglets loud,

rollicking song echoes from the forest edge in northern and western lowlands.

Listen carefully, and you can hear three distinct parts of its song.

The tiny powerhouse of a singer is one of the smallest songbirds on the continent,

weighing in it just a little more than half a chickadee.

Mostly green and hard to spot, flitting from twig to twig,

it hovers in midair as it catches tiny insects.

The green crown feathers on the male kinglet conceal a swatch of red ones.

When in the mood to sing, he raises this narrow crimson crest.

The kinglet's Latin name suits it well.

Regulus Calendula, the glowing little king.

A regal loaster that points to his ruby-crowned,

but could also describe his song.

The ruby-crowned kinglet tunes up his spring song only in the lowlands.

Later this month, he'll depart to sing and nest

at mile-high altitudes in our mountain forests.

To see a photo of this bird and all we feature on the show,

come to our website birdnote.org. I'm Mary McCann.