Common Firecrest
Regulus ignicapilla
Also known as: Firecrest
Habitat
Understory
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
6 g
About This Species
Search dense conifers, especially spruce and pine, listening for its extremely high, thin song, which can be easy to miss but distinctive once learned. It forages actively in outer foliage, flitting and hovering briefly to glean tiny insects from needles, often in mixed flocks with other small woodland birds outside the breeding season. It is present year-round in much of its range, with activity most noticeable in early morning during the breeding season.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- View quietly from below the canopy without approaching the tree closely, since this tiny bird's nest is a delicate suspended cup easily damaged or exposed by disturbing nearby branches.
- It is protected under wildlife law in the European Union and many other range states, which prohibits deliberate disturbance at an active nest.
- Binoculars and patience are more effective than trying to get physically closer, which risks flushing an incubating bird and exposing eggs to predators or chilling.
LCAvesPasseriformesRegulidae
Seasonal Activity
786,259 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Regulidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Understory
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 6 g
Photo
(c) egorbirder, some rights reserved (CC BY)
CC-BY-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.