Goldcrest
Regulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is a bird in the family Regulidae and order Passeriformes, placed in the subgroup of songbirds and other perching birds. It is a tiny bird, with an adult body mass of 5.54 g (up to 5.85 g) and a wingspan of 14 cm.
Quick facts about the goldcrest
The goldcrest is a migratory, perching invertivore of forest habitat, with a geographic range of 13,210,000 km². It lays 8.5 eggs per clutch with an incubation period of 15.5 days, reaches sexual maturity at 364.6 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 5.54 g – 5.85 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 14 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 15.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8.5 – 9.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.75src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the goldcrest?
Photos of the goldcrest
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the goldcrest live?
Not recorded
What is the goldcrest?
The goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, R. regulus, means 'petty king' or prince. Several subspecies are recognised across the very large distribution range that includes much of the Palearctic and the islands of Macaronesia and Iceland. Birds from the north and east of its breeding range migrate to winter further south.
This kinglet has greenish upper-parts, whitish under-parts, and has two white wingbars. It has a plain face contrasting black irises and a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding. It superficially resembles the common firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla), which largely shares its European range, but the latter's bronze shoulders and strong face pattern are distinctive. The song is a repetition of high thin notes, slightly higher-pitched than those of its relative. Birds on the Canary Islands are now separated into two subspecies of the goldcrest, but were formerly considered to be a subspecies of the firecrest or a separate species, Regulus teneriffae.
The goldcrest breeds in coniferous woodland and gardens, building its compact, three-layered nest on a tree branch. Ten to twelve eggs are incubated by the female alone, and the chicks are fed by both parents; second broods are common. This kinglet is constantly on the move as it searches for insects to eat, and in winter it is often found with flocks of tits. It may be killed by birds of prey or carry parasites, but its large range and population mean that it is not considered to present any significant conservation concerns.
From the Wikipedia article “Goldcrest” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goldcrest&oldid=1374367753), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the goldcrest sound like?
Is the goldcrest endangered?
The goldcrest is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the goldcrest classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyRegulidae
- genusRegulus
- SpeciesRegulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Motacilla regulus, Regulus cristatus, Regulus flavicapillus
Other names and names in other languages (94)
- Common goldcrestEnglish
- Continental goldcrestEnglish
- Woodcock pilotEnglish
- صعو أصفر العرفArabic
- ذهبي العرف الشائعArabic
- ذهبي العرف تنريفيArabic
- صعو جزر الكناريArabic
- ReipetitAragonese
- reyín montésAsturian
- Кәрлә турғайBashkir
- Жоўтагаловы каралёкBelarusian
- Жълтоглаво кралчеBulgarian
- Dreolan kabell aourBreton
- ReietóCatalan
- reietó eurasiàticCatalan
- Сарикӓ вуян кож кӓзӓляMari
- Ылтӑн тӗпекChuvash
- králíček obecnýCzech
- Zwëczajny mëszélcKashubian
- dryw eurbenWelsh
- Drywod EurbenWelsh
- FuglekongeDanish
- WintergoldhähnchenGerman
- WintergoldhänchenGerman
- ΧρυσοβασιλίσκοςGreek
- orverta regoloEsperanto
- Reyezuelo sencilloSpanish
- pöialpoissEstonian
- Mendi-erregetxoBasque
- سسک تاج طلاییPersian
- hippiäinenFinnish
- TítlingskongurFaroese
- Roitelet huppéFrench
- Roitelet de TenerifeFrench
- WonterfögelkönangNorthern Frisian
- GoudtûfkeWestern Frisian
- CíorbhuíIrish
- Crionag bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- crìonag bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- crìonagan buidheScottish Gaelic
- dreathain a' chinn bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- dreathan a' chinn bhuidheScottish Gaelic
- Estreliña do norteGalician
- Drean buighManx
- מלכילון האורניםHebrew
- מלכילון אורניםHebrew
- Kraljić žutoglaviCroatian
- zlatoglavi kraljićCroatian
- sárgafejű királykaHungarian
- Արքայիկ դեղնագլուխArmenian
- Դեղնագլուխ արքայիկArmenian
- GlókollurIcelandic
- RegoloItalian
- Regolo comuneItalian
- Regulus regulusItalian
- キクイタダキJapanese
- БзущхьэгъуэжьKabardian
- Сарыбас шөжеKazakh
- 상모솔새Korean
- OwrgrybenCornish
- DommendéckLuxembourgish
- NykštukasLithuanian
- paprastasis nykštukasLithuanian
- zeltgalvītisLatvian
- кожгазыляMari
- жолтоглаво кралчеMacedonian
- ЦуняWestern Mari
- GoudhaanDutch
- goudhaantjeDutch
- TenerifegoudhaanDutch
- RotelotPicard
- Mysikrólik zwyczajnyPolish
- MysikrólikPolish
- mysikrólik (zwyczajny)Polish
- BandeiritaPortuguese
- estrelinha-de-poupaPortuguese
- Auşel cu cap galbenRomanian
- aușel cu cap galbenRomanian
- Желтоголовый королёкRussian
- КороликRusyn
- GollegahpirNorthern Sami
- loddegonagasNorthern Sami
- králik zlatohlavýSlovak
- rumenoglavi kraljičekSlovenian
- mbretthiAlbanian
- KraljićSerbian
- КраљићSerbian
- kungsfågelSwedish
- çalıkuşuTurkish
- Bayağı çalı kuşuTurkish
- золотомушка жовточубаUkrainian
- StelinVenetian
- Houpêye flamineteWalloon
- 戴菊Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the goldcrest
Other species in the same genus Regulus.
Common firecrest
Regulus ignicapilla
Golden crowned kinglet
Regulus satrapa
Madeiracrest
Regulus madeirensis
Flamecrest
Regulus goodfellowi
CompareGoldcrest vs Common firecrestGoldcrest vs Golden crowned kingletGoldcrest vs MadeiracrestGoldcrest vs Flamecrest
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How big is a goldcrest?
The goldcrest is a tiny bird with an adult body mass of 5.54 g, up to 5.85 g, and a wingspan of 14 cm.
What does the goldcrest eat?
The goldcrest is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the goldcrest endangered?
No. The goldcrest is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the global IUCN assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a goldcrest live?
The goldcrest has a lifespan of 7 years.
How many eggs does a goldcrest lay?
The goldcrest lays 8.5 eggs per clutch, up to 9.9, with 1.75 clutches per year. The egg incubation period is 15.5 days.
Does the goldcrest migrate?
Yes, the goldcrest is migratory.
What kind of animal is the goldcrest?
The goldcrest is a bird of the family Regulidae, in the subgroup of songbirds and other perching birds.
Who named the goldcrest?
The goldcrest, Regulus regulus, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Goldcrest (Regulus regulus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/goldcrest
“Goldcrest (Regulus regulus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/goldcrest.
@misc{goldcrest_2026,
title = {Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/goldcrest},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}