European birds    Bird names   News   Family groups 1-26    Glossary    Plumage    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Credits    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   V   W   Y  

17

Common Firecrest

(Regulus ignicapillus)
Alternate name(s): "Firecrest"
German name(s): "Sommergoldhähnchen"

Size: 9 cm; wing span 13-16 cm
Weight: 4-7 g

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Common Firecrest at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "ignicapillus"

ADULT

MALE

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

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

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

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

Near-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-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 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 view of a male Common Firecrest spreading its wings (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)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2022]

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 (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-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]

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]

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_20220220.mp3 ignicapillus
(Portugal)
Territorial call? © JP
fircrst_jp_20221230.mp3 ignicapillus
(Portugal)
Various (incl. territorial calls?) © JP
fircrst_jp_20200721.m4a ignicapillus
(Portugal)
Alarm calls? © JP
fircrst_jp_20230124.mp3 ignicapillus
(Portugal)
Alarm calls? © 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.