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17

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) Alternate name(s): "King of the birds" German name(s): "Wintergoldhähnchen" Size: 10-11 cm; wing span 15-21 cm Weight: 5-11 g

Europe: Family Group 17 Family Group 17 Table Dunnock Alpine Accentor Goldcrest Common Firecrest Eurasian Wren Willow Warbler Common Chiffchaff Iberian Chiffchaff 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 Goldcrests are one of the smallest European bird species. Details of their plumage depend on race. Their most prominent feature is their crest, with two longitudinal black stripes on the sides of the crown, which is orange in males and yellow in females. They have incomplete white eye-rings and otherwise grey sides of the head, with an olive-grey patch behind each eye. The front is greyish-buff, while the back is more olive-grey. The mostly olive-grey wings have prominent white bars and also white tips on the ends of the flight feathers. The body is rotund; the olive-grey tail is slightly forked. The irises are dark; the bill is dark-grey and the legs are yellowish-grey. Juveniles have a horn-coloured bill and a plain, grey head without any crest markings for the first few weeks.

Taxonomy, classification See Goldcrest 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 Goldcrest is available HERE . Goldcrests are a partly migratory Eurasian species with many different races. In continental Eurasia there are 9 different races, and there are another 5 on various Atlantic islands. Altogether, their distribution ranges from the eastern Atlantic islands off North-west Africa, via most of Europe and parts of Asia Minor, into mid-latitude Asia, as far as Japan. For more details see e.g. Wikipedia . They are partly migratory, with the northern parts of their range as summer breeding areas and most southern locations as winter quarters. In most of mid-latitude Europe and parts of central Asia they are permanent residents, while the far-eastern races, in eastern China and Japan, are purely migratory. In Europe, Goldcrests, race "regulus", are permanent residents in mid-latitude regions, from Iceland via the British Isles and central Europe to southern Scandinavia and eastern Europe. In central Scandinavia and north-eastern Europe they are found as summer breeding visitors, while in most of the Mediterranean countries, south-eastern Europe and around the Black Sea they are found only as winter visitors. Only in (relatively) high-altitude regions within those southern parts of their range they can also be permanent residents (parts of central Spain, parts of the central Italian mountain range and parts of the Balkans). Goldcrests are NOT found in high-latitude and high-altitude central Scandinavia. Goldcrests have a preference for mature conifer woodland and forest especially for nesting, but also during the rest of the year. Because of their special metabolism, they can be found up to high altitudes, often up to 3000 m, occasionally even up to 4800 m.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "regulus" D. Wilczynska reports spotting Goldcrests, race "regulus", in Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in October 2016. Another was spotted at the same location in October 2020. S. Cuturilov reports that a Goldcrest, race "regulus", was caught, ringed and released at Vlasina Lake, Serbia, in October 2019. J. Pires spotted Goldcrests, race "regulus", at the Castelhana, the Raia river and at the Montargil Dam, in or near Mora, Evora, Portugal, in September-November 2020. G. Normand found a Goldcrest, race "regulus", at Pere Lachaise cemetery, 20th district, Paris, France, in January 2021.

Photos

Race "regulus"

ADULT

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female(?) Goldcrest (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Pere Lachaise cemetery, 20th district, Paris, France, January 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a female(?) Goldcrest (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Vlasina Lake, Serbia, October 2019]

Sex unknown

Near-dorsal view of a Goldcrest (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, October 2020]

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.

gldcrst_jp_20201016.m4a	regulus (Portugal)	Contact calls (Q&A)	© JP
gldcrst_dw_20161003.m4a	regulus (Poland)	Q&A (pair)	© DW
gldcrst_jp_20201103.m4a	regulus (Portugal)	Q&A (pair)	© JP
gldcrst_jp_20201103_2.m4a	regulus (Portugal)	?	© JP
gldcrst_jp_20200910.m4a	regulus (Portugal)	?	© 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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 28 December 2021, 3:31 +00:00