Bird of Today: Goldcrest 9/13/24

The Goldcrest is a small passerine bird of the Kinglet family, often recognized by its bright golden crest feathers adorned on its head and greenish hues accented on its wings and body. This, and its title 'King of the birds' in European folklore, gives rise to its scientific and English name.
The Goldcrest has a very large distribution in Eurasia, breeding spans from Macaronesia to Japan, and it is common to see them in the middle and northern temperate and boreal latitudes of Europe. Goldcrests are generally found in cooler areas than the very similar Firecrest, for example.

Males and Females have very similar plumage. From a glance it can be difficult to distinguish them. However, a noticeable difference can be seen in the color of their crests. Females, like the two images shown above, have a solid and bright yellow crest. In comparison, the Male has a distinct orange hue that generally fades out from the start of the crest, shown below.



Goldcrests seek a variety of prey, generally feeding within the trees and frequently foraging beneath the underside of branches and leaves (In comparison to the Firecrest, which does the opposite). Spiders, caterpillars, springtails, and flies make up the majority of their diet. In the winter, flocks of Goldcrests will cover a given distance at only a third of the speed that Firecrests will, taking the prey otherwise ignored by their relative.