Goldcrest, male

Description

Despite its majestic name, the goldcrest is the smallest bird of Denmark. It is only 8,5-9,5 centimetres from tail to the tip of the beak, and it is a very compact little bird with a relatively large head.

The size of the bird and the so-called royal crown of both the male and the female goldcrest makes it characteristic. Both birds have a yellow crown, framed by black edges. The male goldcrest has an orange stripe covering this crown, which becomes visible when he gets angry. The dark eyes of the goldcrest are framed by light feathers, thereby giving the bird an open and curios look.

The goldcrest lives on insects and spiders. The season of breeding begins at the end of April, and the 7-10 eggs are hatched out by the female goldcrest for 14-17 days, while the young ones are fed by both parents for up to 3 weeks.

The Danish goldcrests are both sedentary and breeding birds, thus we are able to see them all year long. In the winter they travel in flock, sometimes together with tits and other small birds, and that’s why they are more conspicuous at that time.

Goldcrests from the rest of Scandinavia travel to Denmark in cold winters, and then we see them all over the place, and we can often observe a very trustful behaviour at this point.