The Tiny King with the Golden Crown : The Goldcrest

in #nature7 years ago (edited)

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The Goldcrest is Britain tiniest bird yet is known as "The King of Birds". The goldcrest weight is around 5-6 grams whereas the wren is 7-12 grams. In European folklore its known as the king of birds. With serveral sub species of the goldcrest scattered over the European continent.

Regardless of this birds tiny size they are migratory birds often flying from Scandinavia to Europe and Britain. Strangely they migrate to Britain for the winter. Probably to avoid the cold Scandinavian winter.

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One of the folklore tales told about this birds migration was that it hitched a ride on the much larger woodcock or on the back of the short eared owl.

They food consists mainly of small spiders and insects. They will take spiders directly from their webs.

Their nests are cup shaped consisting of lichens, cobwebs, moss and hair. They lay between 9 and 16 eggs which is a huge amount for such a small bird and a mountainous task to keep up with feeding 16 chicks

more info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldcrest

From Wikipedia

The Goldcrest

The goldcrest is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers gives rise to its English and scientific names, and possibly to it being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Regulus regulus
Higher classification: Kinglet

My Other Bird Posts

The Bullfinch
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-bold-chested-crimson-bird-the-bullfinch

The Chaffinch
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-whoa-what-s-that-bird-the-chaffinch

The Tree Sparrow
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-elusive-little-sparrow-tree-sparrow

The House Sparrow
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-humble-spuggy-the-house-sparrow

The Robin
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-christmas-bird-that-doesn-t-get-eaten-the-robin

The Pied Wagtail
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/little-trotty-wagtail-the-pied-and-yellow-wagtail

The Wren
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-garden-bird-you-never-see-the-timid-wren

The Blue Tit
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-little-bird-with-the-big-voice-the-blue-tit

The Great Tit
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-guy-with-the-little-black-cap-the-great-tit

The Longtailed Tit
https://steemit.com/nature/@dune69/the-flash-mob-of-the-bird-world-the-longtailed-tit

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