The goldcrest is Europe's smallest bird, a tiny olive-green bird with a yellow crown edged in black. It's an Old World cousin of the golden-crowned kinglet and lives across Europe and Asia, but it doesn't occur in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 3.3–3.7 in (8.5–9.5 cm) long and 0.16–0.25 oz (4.5–7 g). Olive-green above, pale below, with two white wing bars and a plain face. Males have an orange center in the yellow crown; females' crowns are all yellow.
- Voice
- A very high, thin call and song.
Look-alikes
Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
The golden-crowned kinglet has a bold face pattern: a white eyebrow above a black stripe through the eye. The goldcrest's face is plain, with no stripes.
Why they get mixed upBoth are tiny, olive birds with a yellow crown edged in black.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Conifer forests
- Parks
- Gardens
- Range
- Breeds from the Canary Islands and Azores across Europe and Asia to Japan; northern and eastern birds move south for the winter. It doesn't live in the United States.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers mature spruce, pine, fir, and larch woods, and also uses parks and gardens with conifers.
Behavior
- Diet
- Tiny insects and spiders, including caterpillars, flies, and springtails.
- Social life
- In winter, small groups often join flocks of tits and warblers, and birds huddle together on cold nights.
Life cycle
- Nest
- A deep, three-layered cup slung beneath a conifer branch.
- Clutch size
- Usually 9–11 eggs (Europe)
- Incubation
- 16–19 days, by the female
- Fledging
- 17–22 days after hatching
- Lifespan
- Average life expectancy is only about eight months; the oldest known bird (a British record) lived 4 years 10 months.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Its genus name, Regulus, means "little king," a nod to its crown-like crest.
- An old European fable tells of a tiny bird that hid under an eagle's tail feathers, then flew higher than the tired eagle to become "king of the birds."
More species to explore
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