Appearance:

Smallest bird of Western Palearctic. Crown stripe yellow in female, orange in male. Since bird is often viewed from below, the crown stripe is often not visible. The dark eye with the large, pale grey eye-ring is a better character. Pale wingbars and pale tips of tertials. No supercilium. Behaviour essentially tit-like. Restlessly moving among branches in treetops, with frequent hovering to get at insects.

Sound:

Contact call a very high pitched "zit zit zit", only similar to Firecrest and treecreepers. Treecreepers usually calls with longer "zzzziiiiit" repeated at regular intervals, while Goldcrest calls in phrases with two to four calls in series in an uneven rhythm. Firecrest contact calls lower pitched than Goldcrest, and in a softer tone (but quite similar). Song: a very high-pitched, undulating series of arpeggiated notes moving down and up again, repeated 4-5 times ending with a marked "conclusion" (like "trying to start a tiny motor and failing"). Timbre of song similar to contact call.

Song:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Male with shiny black upperparts and pure white underparts. Female grey-brown with pale underparts. Both sexes with broad white edges to tertials and greater coverts, forming a broad white patch (largest in males). Fairly compact body compared to Spotted Flycatcher, with shorter tail and bill. Easily confused with Collared- and Semicollared Flycatcher where these occur. Both sexes differs from Semicollared in no white edges to end of tail and less white at base. Distinguished from Collared in white patch beneath alula being narrow and not reaching edge of wing (both sexes), white base of tail (black in Collared males) and no collar (males).

Sound:

Alarm call a sharp, energetic "wit", often in combination with a short "tic"; "whit-tic". Song a pleasant, tuneful, simple but varied phrase. Typically starts with disyllabic notes being repeated 3-5 times, diminishing in pitch and intensity like an echo of the first two syllables. Occasionally throws in a quick diagnostic ascending scale excercise. Clear notes and well defined pauses between phrases.

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC