Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) Species Guide: Appearance, Diet, Habitat, Behavior, Stats, And Conservation Status

Species Guide: Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
Family: Regulidae

APPEARANCE

The Goldcrest is the smallest bird in Europe. They are rotund birds with olive-green plumage on their upperparts and paler underparts. Further, they have a bright yellow patch on their crown framed in black, noting that, males sometimes display a red-orange center to their crown. They have a pale patch framing the eye.

Diet

They are almost exclusively insectivores; eating small creatures such as aphids, flies, spiders, and caterpillars.

HABITAT

The Goldcrest favors coniferous environments, spending their time darting about the canopy to collect insects. You will occasionally see them in broadleaf, scrub, and human-inhabited areas.

They can be found across the European Continent with populations tending to be resident except for Goldcrests in more northerly locations which migrate during the winter months. From a UK standpoint, they can be found across the entirety of the British Isles throughout the year.

Behavior

In winter they are known to form mixed flocks of birds scouring for food, especially with smaller bird species such as tits. During this time, the UK population is bolstered with Golcrests that migrate from Scandinavia.

Breeding birds form monogamous pairs each breeding season, with nesting commencing in April. The nest is constructed using moss, lichen, and webs. Clutch size ranges from 6-8 eggs which are incubated by the female. After hatching, the nestlings are fully fledged after approximately 18 days. Goldcrests can have up to two broods each year.

Did You Know? To conserve energy on winter nights, Golcrests often huddle together to keep each other warm. As Europe’s smallest bird, they are especially prone to cold weather and can burn off up to 20% of their body weight in fat reserves each night to maintain their body temperature.¹

Biometrics^2&3

NATURAL PREDATORS

As with many of our European woodland birds, the Sparrowhawk is their main predator. Other key predators include birds of prey such as owls.

Conservation Status

The Goldcrest is green-listed in the UK, and registered as Least Concern by the IUCN from a global viewpoint.

U.K.
Conservation Status

Global
Conservation Status

Related Articles

CITATIONS

1. Crick, Humphrey Q P (1993). “Goldcrest”. In Gibbons, David Wingham; Reid, James B; Chapman, Robert A (eds.). The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988–1991. London: T. & A. D. Poyser. p. 352. ISBN 978-0-85661-075-2. [Accessed 22/04/2025] ↩︎
2. Featherbase: Goldcrest [Accessed 22/04/2025] ↩︎
3. BTO: Goldcrest [Accessed 22/04/2025] ↩︎

References

1. Golley, Mark. Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 22/04/2025]