# Ruby Crowned Kinglet comes in from the cold (with picture) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 28, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768 "2021-12-28T06:36:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/1 "2021-12-28T06:36:19Z")
Tonight at work I opened the back door to take out the garbage and in walked/fluttered a ruby crowned kinglet. It’s very cold here right now and we’ve had days of snow so the poor little thing was probably freezing and disoriented. I picked him up and put him in a box with a little dish of water, which he drank from immediately. After a few minutes of being covered and left alone, he tucked his little head under his wing and went to sleep. He’s currently on my counter waiting till the morning when I can take him to the wildlife rescue place down the road. He pooped a few times which made me feel good because I know he’s not starving, just cold and thirsty. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51781593586_abb71f1339_z.jpg "Ruby Crowned Kinglet") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/56821557@N06/51781593586/in/dateposted-public/) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/2 "2021-12-28T10:58:02Z")
Good on ya! ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/3 "2021-12-28T11:03:24Z")
Awww, poor chilly little dude 🥶 Glad he invited himself in! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/4 "2021-12-28T14:33:52Z")
Read a book on birds once that had a long essay on the ability of tiny kinglets to survive in frigid weather. I applaud your intentions, but not sure how much intervention is needed. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/5 "2021-12-28T15:09:41Z")
Aww, what a cutie! > **[Ruby-crowned Kinglet Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/id#)** > > A tiny bird seemingly overflowing with energy, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet forages almost frantically through lower branches of shrubs and trees. Its habit of constantly flicking its wings is a key identification clue. Smaller than a warbler or... ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/6 "2021-12-28T17:20:06Z")
It was pitch black out and he wasn’t flying properly which is why it was so easy to pick him up. He’s now been delivered to here: > **[North Island Wildlife Recovery Association | Errington, BC, Canada](https://www.niwra.org/)** > > North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre is a non-profit facility that cares for ill, injured and orphaned wildlife, and educates the public about wildlife and environmental issues. Visitors can see non-releasable Vancouver Island wildlife in peaceful... ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/7 "2021-12-28T17:34:34Z")
Not sure that was a good choice. I would have turned him over to people rather than a bear. Hopefully this bear is smarter than the average bear. 🐻 ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/8 "2021-12-28T17:35:27Z")
Bears need friends, too! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/9 "2021-12-28T17:38:42Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Not sure that was a good choice. I would have turned him over to people rather than a bear. Hopefully this bear is smarter than the average bear. 🐻 - Fortunately, bears don’t get the meaning of being given the bird. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/10 "2021-12-28T21:42:40Z")
If you can have moose and squirrel, why not have bear and bird? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/11 "2021-12-28T21:44:36Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > If you can have moose and squirrel, why not have bear and bird? - Not as much fun to say in a bad Russian accent. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/12 "2021-12-28T22:04:44Z")
Pooping is always a good sing in a little bird. Hope he does alright and can return to the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/13 "2022-01-02T18:21:33Z")
Let us know how the bird did? ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/14 "2022-01-03T06:20:59Z")
I’m not sure because I didn’t call the wildlife place for an update but I think he probably was ok. They’ll likely keep him for a week or so till they know he’s good to go and then they release them. He probably just needed some food and water and a break from the cold. It’s warmed up again to our normal winter temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/15 "2022-01-03T15:07:51Z")
I’d appreciate being educated as to what folk think is appropriate/necessary in terms of assistance to which species. I’m not trying to threadshit, but it is not unusual for me to see birds and small mammals that look “under the weather.” But I would not think of trying to get the animals aid - I guess I might feel differently if they seemed to be really rare or something. But little animals ail and die all the time. Just interested in what makes folk think differently than I. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/16 "2022-01-03T15:46:46Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Just interested in what makes folk think differently than I. My gf found a very young, comatose possum once, out in the cold. She cancelled our plans for the evening, set up an incubator, warmed it, eventually gave it some water with an eyedropper, etc. Our plans for the next day also were cancelled as she had me drive the now snarling thing [to this place](https://humaneanimalrescue.org/wildlife/) for further, more specialized care. They called us daily with updates. I learned later that although I’d given a $20 voluntary donation when I left it, my gf had donated $100 with her credit-card when she called about me dropping it off (she didn’t think I’d leave a donation, which I was sad to learn). The little guy was ready for release four days after she found it. I drove to the wildlife center, retrieved it, and we released it in our barn (where she’d originally found it). To me, possums are a bit of a pest species. I did what I did to help with it because it made my gf happy. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/17 "2022-01-03T16:09:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I did what I did to help with it because it made my gf happy. Wow! A $120 possum! I’ve - um - relocated a couple of possums. Wondering how you figured it was “comatose”, rather than just playing dead? I probably would not go so far as killing the varmint, but I sure wouldn’t spend $1.20 on it either. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/18 "2022-01-03T16:24:49Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Wondering how you figured it was “comatose”, rather than just playing dead? Heh. It was one of those “coldest day of the past decade” type times and it appeared dead. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > I probably would not go so far as killing the varmint, In this situation, it would die without intervention. If not for my gf, I’d have ended its life as swiftly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/19 "2022-01-03T17:06:56Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > … But I would not think of trying to get the animals aid…Just interested in what makes folk think differently than I. People are just wired differently. A little bird, cold and disoriented, makes its way inside. I would not think of opening the door and chucking it out into the pitch black to die. It took such little effort for me to pick him, put him in a box and take him to the rescue place. Why wouldn’t I do that? I guess like you can’t really understand why someone would do that, I can’t understand why they would not. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768/20 "2022-01-03T17:13:17Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > I guess like you can’t really understand why someone would do that, I can’t understand why they would not. Fair enough. I’m thinking of a couple of occasions when live birds made their way into houses I was in. I wouldn’t say I wanted to kill them, but I sure wanted them out of there. Not sure how much my opinion would change if it was cold and the bird seemed stressed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-crowned-kinglet-comes-in-from-the-cold-with-picture/956768.md?page=2)