Goldcrest Regulus regulus

The Goldcrest is the smallest British and European bird, a little smaller than the Wren and similar in size to its close relative the Firecrest. It lives mainly in fir trees. It can be distinguished from the Firecrest by its yellow (rather than orange) crest, plainer face without black eye stripe and white eyebrow, and browner (less olive green) back.

It is in the "Kinglet" family, together with other tiny birds with a bright gold crown on their heads (Firecrests and Kinglets); its Latin name also means little king.

Enjoying a bath, the female has an all yellow crest, whereas the male's crest has an orange tinge at the back.

When she incubates her eggs, her body is too tiny to incubate all c.10 (6-12) completely, so she has an unusual ability to send heat into her legs to help reach all the eggs (thermal camera shows this).