Scientific name: Regulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Warblers
Field characters. 9 cm. Tiny compact song bird. Upperparts green, underparts pale grey to whitish. Two white wing bars and white tips to tertials. Most obvious character is yellow crown-stripe, bordered by black lines. Male has orange crown, but orange often concealed by yellow tips. Small black moustachial stripe as in Firecrest, but lacks bold head pattern of latter and black eye in otherwise pale face gives more 'gentle' appearance. During breeding season in pairs, outside breeding season often found in scattered flocks, with or without tits. In autumn sometimes large influxes to western Europe. Very active, constantly moving, but even when heard sometimes difficult to see. Can be confiding, like Firecrest, and often allows close approach. Also curious.
Voice. Call thin, high 'sisisi', sometimes resembling tits, especially Coal Tit, but often very sustained. Song also high pitched but louder and with more variation than in Firecrest.
Distribution. Common resident. Influxes mainly in October.
Habitat. Especially in coniferous woods, but outside breeding season also in gardens, parks and isolated copses and trees.
Food. Small invertebrates, mainly taken from branches and leaves by hovering, almost never seen feeding on the ground.