Firecrest

More brilliant than the goldcrest

The firecrest and goldcrest are closely related and similar in size, but the firecrest is distinctly more richly coloured. Where the goldcrest is a rather uniform olive-green, the firecrest has a bold white supercilium (eyebrow stripe), a black lateral crown stripe flanking the orange-red crest, and distinctive bronze or coppery patches on the sides of the neck. In good light, a male firecrest has a jewelled quality entirely disproportionate to its tiny size.

British breeding status

The firecrest first bred in Britain in 1962, in the New Forest. The breeding population has grown slowly and is now estimated at around 550 pairs, mostly in southern England in spruce plantations and mature mixed woodland. Norway spruce is particularly favoured. The species is a priority breeding bird for some south of England conservation reserves. It remains far less common than the goldcrest.

Winter visitors

Like the goldcrest, the British breeding population is augmented by continental migrants in autumn and winter. Firecrests from France, Belgium, and the Netherlands cross the Channel and winter in coastal scrub, gardens, and mixed woodland. East coast migration watchpoints record firecrests alongside goldcrests in October and November falls.

Diet and foraging

Firecrests are insectivores, gleaning tiny invertebrates — spiders, mites, aphids, and small moth eggs — from foliage. They tend to forage lower in the vegetation canopy than goldcrests, often working through the middle layers of shrubs and the lower branches of conifers. Their fine, pointed bill is perfectly suited to extracting prey from between leaves and needle clusters.