Kinglets | Regulidae

Goudhaantjes | Reyezuelos

At around six grams these are among the smallest songbirds in the region. They are almost never still, flitting through the outer twigs of conifers and flicking their wings nervously as they go, a manner that gives them away at a distance. While feeding they hover briefly in place to pick minute insects, springtails and eggs from the underside of needles. The crown carries a coloured patch that normally lies half hidden between the surrounding feathers and is only raised into a blazing crest in excitement or display. The nest is a deep, thick-walled cup of moss, lichen and spider silk slung beneath a conifer branch, so small that the eggs lie in two layers; the clutch is remarkably large for a bird of this size. The song is a series of very high thin notes running into a fast tumbling ending. Outside the breeding season they join roving parties of woodland birds and get through cold nights by huddling tightly together.