Regulus

Goldcrest Regulus regulus, photographed by Rein Kuresoo.

Belongs within: Passerida.

The genus Regulus contains the kinglets, very small birds of the Holarctic region. Both the generic and vernacular name refer to the crowns of yellow, orange or red the birds possess. Kinglets build bowl-shaped nests from moss and lichen bound with spider and caterpillar silk that expand as the young grow (Sturmbauer et al. 1998).

Characters (from Sturmbauer et al. 1998): Small, fluffy-plumaged; wings with ten primaries. Nostrils basal, with oval opening in front of coriaceous groove, indistinctly operculated, usually covered with small, stiff, peculiarly-shaped feather (except in Regulus calendula).

Regulus Cuvier 1800 [Regulidae, Regulinae] M02
    |  i. s.: R. bulgaricus Boev 1999 M02
    |         R. goodfellowi A61
    |--R. calendula SB98
    |    |--R. c. calendula MS55
    |    `--R. c. obscurus MS55
    |--R. satrapa JF06
    `--+--R. ignicapillus (Temminck 1820) SB98, M02 [=Sylvia ignicapilla M02]
       `--+--R. regulus SB98
          |    |--R. r. regulus VP89
          |    `--R. r. japonensis VP89
          `--R. teneriffae SB98

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.

[JF06] Jønsson, K. A., & J. Fjeldså. 2006. A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds. Zoologica Scripta 35: 149-186.

[MS55] Mertens, R., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Die im Senckenberg-Museum vorhandenen Arten ausgestorbener, aussterbender oder seltener Vögel. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (3-4): 241-265.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[SB98] Sturmbauer, C., B. Berger, R. Dallinger & M. Föger. 1998. Mitochondrial phylogeny of the genus Regulus and implications on the evolution of breeding behaviour in sylvioid songbirds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 10 (1): 144-149.

[VP89] Viney, C., & K. Phillipps. 1989. Birds of Hong Kong 5^th ed. Government Printer: Hong Kong.