Follow us on:
  • About
    • History
    • Collections
    • Uses
    • Meet the staff
    • Curator
  • On Display
    • Floor plan
    • Animal finder >
      • By Location
      • By Animal group >
        • Vertebrates
        • Invertebrates
    • Keys and information sheets >
      • Evolution and adaptation
      • Taxonomy
      • Diet
      • Social organisation and mating system
      • Ecosystems and habitats
  • Activities
  • Visit us
    • Tours
    • School visits
    • Find us
    • Get involved
  • Get in touch
    • Visitor feedback

Goldcrest

Regulus regulus


Where is it found?

Picture
Picture
Picture
Woodland, heathland, meadows and urban parkland.

Diet and foraging method

Picture
Foraging in trees, taking insects from leaves and branches, catch insects in flight.
Picture

Key adaptations

They are well adapted for living in and foraging among thick conifer branches, with their small body size and small, narrow bill to take small insects from confined spaces.

Social organisation and mating system

Picture
Flocks
Picture
Picture
Forms monogamous breeding pairs

Did you know that...?

The Goldcrest has a bright yellow crest on its head. This crest may be why Goldcrests are called the king of the birds in European folklore.

Taxonomy

Picture

Picture credits:

Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Fuglekonge - Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) from Lista, Norway" by Marton Berntsen - Own work. Licenced under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fuglekonge_-_Goldcrest_(Regulus_regulus)_from_Lista,_Norway.JPG#/media/File:Fuglekonge_-_Goldcrest_(Regulus_regulus)_from_Lista,_Norway.JPG
"Goldcrest ( Regolo ) - Val d'Aosta - Italy S4E4395 (17109774266)" by Francesco Veronesi from Italy - Goldcrest ( Regolo ) - Val d'Aosta - Italy_S4E4395. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goldcrest_(_Regolo_)_-_Val_d%27Aosta_-_Italy_S4E4395_(17109774266).jpg#/media/File:Goldcrest_(_Regolo_)_-_Val_d%27Aosta_-_Italy_S4E4395_(17109774266).jpg
"Regulus regulus azoricus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.207" by Didier Descouens - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Regulus_regulus_azoricus_MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.207.jpg#/media/File:Regulus_regulus_azoricus_MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.207.jpg
"A Natural History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds -Goldcrest -plate 132" by Francis Orpen Morris - A_Natural_History_of_the_Nests_and_Eggs_of_British_Birds. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Natural_History_of_the_Nests_and_Eggs_of_British_Birds_-Goldcrest_-plate_132.jpg#/media/File:A_Natural_History_of_the_Nests_and_Eggs_of_British_Birds_-Goldcrest_-plate_132.jpg
"Regulus regulus -Vendee, France-8" by Oiseauxvendee - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Regulus_regulus_-Vendee,_France-8.jpg#/media/File:Regulus_regulus_-Vendee,_France-8.jpg
"Zoological Illustrations Volume II Series 2 051" by William Swainson - Zoological illustrations, or, Original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals, selected chiefly from the classes of ornithology, entomology, and conchology, and arranged according to their apparent affinities, Volume 2, 2nd series (1829). Licenced under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zoological_Illustrations_Volume_II_Series_2_051.jpg#/media/File:Zoological_Illustrations_Volume_II_Series_2_051.jpg
"Gold-creasted Wren Grönvold" by Henrik Grönvold - Birds of Great Britain and Ireland, Order Passeres, vol. I, plate 22. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gold-creasted_Wren_Gr%C3%B6nvold.jpg#/media/File:Gold-creasted_Wren_Gr%C3%B6nvold.jpg

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.