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Common Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) Alternate name(s): "Firecrest" German name(s): "Sommergoldhähnchen" Size: 9-10 cm; wing span 13-16 cm Body mass: 4-7 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.11-0.15

Europe: Family Group 17 Family Group 17 Table Dunnock Alpine Accentor Goldcrest Common Firecrest Madeira Firecrest Eurasian Wren Willow Warbler Common Chiffchaff Iberian Chiffchaff Arctic Warbler Yellow-barred Warbler Wood Warbler Western Bonelli's Warbler Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Firecrests are the smallest European bird species. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Common Firecrests have a dark-yellow frons and chin/throat. The sides of the head are dominated by broad white supercilia. Below a thin black eye-stripe they have another small white semi-annular patch. Behind this white-black-white mask they have a narrow grey patch and a brighter olive-yellow patch on the ear coverts. The crown is marked by a prominent orange central stripe, with a bold black stripe on either side of it. The front is yellowish-grey while the upperparts are olive-grey. The folded wings show prominent white and black bars, with yellowish edge lining on the flight feathers. Instead of an orange central stripe on the crown, females have a yellow one. Otherwise the two sexes are identical. The irises are dark. The narrow straight bill is black, while the legs and feet are greyish-orange. Juveniles resemble adults, but without black and yellow/orange head markings.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Firecrest at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Firecrest is available HERE . There are two extant races of Common Firecrests, which are a partly sedentary, partly migratory Eurasian species. Their overall range is limited to parts of Europe, the north-western coastal fringe of Africa, parts of Asia Minor and the Black Sea coastal fringe. Race "balearicus" is present only on the Balearic Islands and in north-western near-coastal Africa; the rest of the range is occupied by nominal race ignicapillus". In Europe, Common Firecrests, race "ignicapillus", are sedentary in northern Iberia and in western to central Europe, westward of the river Rhine and the Alps, including a narrow strip in southern England. They are also found all year round on the western Mediterranean islands, in northern Sicily, on Crete, in western Italy and along the Balkans, as well as the High Tatras, while in the rest of southern and south-eastern Europe they are winter visitors. Also in southern England and Wales they disperse somewhat during the winter. In eastern Europe, from the river Rhine and the Alps to about Slovenia and Lithuania, Common Firecrests are summer breeding migrants. There are small permanent populations in two areas on the North coast of the Black Sea as well. Common Firecrests have a preference for forests and woodland with deciduous, coniferous or mixed growth (in Iberia often found in cork oak). For foraging they like to have dense undergrowth, but they nest in conifers.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "ignicapillus" J. Pires reports spotting Common Firecrests, nominate race "ignicapillus", occasionally in various locations in southern/central Portugal. S. Cuturilov reports that a Common Firecrest, nominate race "ignicapillus", was caught, ringed and released at Vlasina Lake, Serbia, in October 2019.

Photos

Race "ignicapillus"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Frontal view of a male Common Firecrest turning around on its perch - note the deep-orange crest stripe (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Frontal view of a male Common Firecrest issuing its call (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Parque Ecologico do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Firecrest; note the bright gold patch (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Firecrest looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe, Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal, January 2023]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tramaga, Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe, Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe, Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Common Firecrest on the point of departure (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Parque Ecologico do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral/ventral view of a male(?) Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe, Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal, January 2023]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Common Firecrest - note the yellow crest stripe (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2022]

Near-frontal view of a female Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2022]

Near-frontal view of a female Common Firecrest looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2024]

Near-lateral view of a female Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2022]

Lateral view of a female Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2022]

Lateral view of a female(?) Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Vlasina Lake, Serbia, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2022]

Dorsal view of a female Common Firecrest (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2024]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Common Firecrest; note the absence of a yellow stripe on the head (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Parque da Paz, Almada, Setubal, Portugal, November 2022]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Common Firecrests are sedentary in large parts of their range. However, the population in parts of central and especially in eastern Europe is migratory.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

fircrst_jp_20250816.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Contact calls?	© JP
fircrst_jp_20251014.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Contact calls?	© JP
fircrst_jp_2025yyyy.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Contact & territorial calls?	© JP
fircrst_jp_20220220.mp3	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Territorial call?	© JP
fircrst_jp_20221230.mp3	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Various (incl. territorial calls?)	© JP
fircrst_jp_20250213.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Alarm call?	© JP
fircrst_jp_20200721.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Alarm calls?	© JP
fircrst_jp_20230124.mp3	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Alarm calls?	© JP
fircrst_jp_20250222.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Various (long sequence)	© JP
fircrst_jp_20250917.m4a	ignicapillus (Portugal)	Various (long sequence)	© JP

More Goldcrest sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.