Goldcrest, Regulus regulus
This species and its cousin the Firecrest are the smallest European birds. The adult
male, above, shows a bright yellow-orange crown stripe. Below, a juvenile, seen
with the male; note the yellow gape. I was lucky to find and photograph these forest
birds in an urban churchyard. They share the genus Regulus with the kinglets of
North America; the Goldcrest resembles and is closely related to our
Golden-crowned Kinglet.
