Groovy feet

Dive into the world of goldcrests, our smallest birds...

Groovy feet? Possibly. Grooved feet? Definitely. That’s just what every self-respecting goldcrest needs! At just 5-6g (a little less than a 2p coin), goldcrests are the UK’s smallest bird and are also one of our most agile; grooved feet help them to grip individual conifer needles as they bounce through the branches, feeding on small invertebrates as they go.

You may hear their high-pitched song or trilling call, a little like a squeaky wheel, but seeing one is a different matter. From the tip of their beak to the end of their tail they're just 9cm in length and with delicate colouring of beige and olive-green, they disappear into the trees as though they were never there. Often, the only way to see one once you've heard it is just stare into the tree and wait for a movement as it flits from leaf to leaf, gleaning food as it goes.

With short necks and reasonably short tails they make festive-like lively baubles dangling from trees. These insectivores are not really looking for food at your bird feeders but harsh weather in late autumn and early winter may bring them barrelling through gardens with a mixed flock of tits. If you've got a dense conifer in your garden, though, perhaps they'll be tempted to check it out as a potential breeding spot for next year. Being such small birds, they don't need a vast territory - a large yew in a churchyard or a conifer in a sea of well-connected gardens would do the trick.

Male goldcrest flaring the neon-orange crest on the top of its head. It's sitting in a tree and has a grey-ish face with green wings that have both a black and a white line on them

If you're lucky enough to have two pairs breeding on your doorstep, or you're out for a walk and find yourself at the junction of two territories, you may spot the famous golden crest. For most of the time this neon-orange flame remains hidden under a thin yellow stripe on the head but breeding males engage in territorial disputes with other males, raising their crest and shouting loudly (for a goldcrest) at each other.

They may have groovy feet and an enviable hair-do but one of the most amazing things about goldcrests is that these tiny bundles of feathers migrate. I often holiday on the east coast in autumn, trying to time a week off with the arrival of some of our winter visitors, and I'm always amazed at the arrival of goldcrests. It's not that long ago that people were so baffled by the turning up of such small birds that they assumed they must have ridden on the backs of woodcocks, helping them to work out where to go - they were once called woodcock pilots! We know now, though, that these small birds use virtually all of their fat reserves to cross the North Sea, escaping the hard winters of Scandinavia and Russia. Some stay put so what makes one goldcrest take their chances with winter and another face the challenges of crossing a vast body of water? Whatever the reason, when you hear or spy a goldcrest over the coming months, just spare a thought for the journey it may recently have made.