Regulus

Belongs within: Muscicapida.

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. Most species have a small stiff feather covering each nostril, though this is absent in the ruby-crowned kinglet R. calendula. 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 (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.

<==Regulus Cuvier 1800 [Regulidae, Regulinae]M02
    |  i. s.: R. bulgaricus Boev 1999M02
    |--+--R. calendula (Linné 1766)SB98, S05 [=Motacilla calendulaS05]
    |  |    |--R. c. calendulaMS55
    |  |    `--R. c. obscurusMS55
    |  `--R. satrapaBKB15
    `--+--+--R. ignicapillus (Temminck 1820)SB98, M02 [=Sylvia ignicapillaM02]
       |  `--R. madeirensisBKB15
       `--+--R. goodfellowiBKB15
          `--+--R. regulusSB98
             |    |--R. r. regulusVP89
             |    `--R. r. japonensisVP89
             `--R. teneriffaeSB98

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[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.

[S05] Schalow, H. 1905. Die Vögel der Arktis. In: Römer, F., & F. Schaudinn (eds) Fauna Arctica. Eine Zusammenstellun der arktischen Tierformen, mit besonder Berücksichtigung des Spitzbergen-Gebietes auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Deutschen Expedition in das Nördliche Eismeer im Jahre 1898 vol. 4 pp. 79–288. Gustav Fischer: Jena.

[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.