A Goldcrest
Coniferous woods are the favoured habitat, although large goldcrest populations also frequent deciduous woods. The birds are gregarious and constantly active, flitting about picking food from the underside of leaves. Their diet is made up of insects, spiders, and their larvae and eggs.
Both the male and female build the cup-shaped nest using cobwebs and moss. It is suspended below an outer branch and lined with feathers. About 10 white eggs are laid, speckled with buff at one end. The female alone incubates them for about 16 days, and the chicks fledge between 16 and 21 days later.
Goldcrest
Goldcrest, common name for one of the smallest birds that live in Britain. The diminutive bird can be found throughout the British Isles and Europe, and into China. At only 9 cm (31 in) long, the goldcrest, flying about in the uppermost part of the canopy of trees, is often missed by all but the most observant. Their backs are a moss-green and the underparts are a pale olive to buff. The most striking feature is the orange crown of the males, which is bordered with yellow and margined by black. In the females the crown is yellow but juveniles lack even this paler colouring. The wings bear white and black bars.
A Goldcrest
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