Goldcrest

The goldcrest is the smallest bird in Europe. It has greenish upper-parts, grayish under-parts and a yellow line on the top of its head. The goldcrest feeds mostly on small insects and spiders which it founds from the spruce branches and digs out of the notches of the bark but sometimes also seeds do.

The goldcrest nests in the spruce-dominated forests. It builds its ball-shaped nest high in the spruce and attaches it on the underside of one of the branches. In addition to Europe the goldcrest is found in some parts of Asia. Some of the birds nesting in Finland migrates to West Europe while some stay in Finland. During a really cold winter even 90% of the birds staying in Finland for winter may die.

The share of spruce has increased in Finland, which is certainly beneficial for the goldcrest that prefers spruce forest.