looduskalender.ee

The smallest singing bird  in Europe: body length less than 10 centimetres and weight just above 5 grams. Loveable, and trusts humans; partly sedentary birds. A part of the birds that have bred here and of the young birds migrate southwards. The number of migrants coming from the north is large and some of them in turn stay with us for the winter. The winter is spent in mixed spruce or pine forests with some deciduous trees and the winter number of goldcrests is only slightly smaller than that of the nesters in summer.

 

The plumage on the back is greenish-grey, two narrow white stripes on the wings, underside greyish white, a short tail. The female has a yellow streak on the top of her head; the crown of the male bird is more colourful – starts with yellow at the edges and the top is brick-coloured.