Common Firecrest

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Common Firecrest in the UK

A scarce breeder that is spreading fast, and also a passage migrant and winter visitor. Firecrests first bred in Britain in Hampshire in 1962. The latest estimate is 2,000 territories (2017), concentrated in south-east and eastern England with outliers in Wales and the north. The breeding range grew more than ninefold between the 1968-72 and 2008-11 atlases. In winter it is more widespread and coastal, recorded in a fifth of UK 10 km squares. Green listed, and protected under Schedule 1.

Where and when to see a Common Firecrest

For breeding birds, walk mature conifer and mixed woodland in southern England from March to June and listen for song. Tall Norway spruce and Douglas fir with holly and ivy below are favoured. The New Forest and the Chilterns are strongholds, and Forestry England runs a signed Firecrest Trail at Wendover Woods. Migrants turn up from September to November at south and east coast headlands such as Dungeness and Portland. In winter check sheltered holly, ivy and scrub near the south and south-west coasts.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Conifers, mixed woodland.
Diet: Tiny insects.
Field note: Bronze shoulder, bold face stripes.

How to identify a Common Firecrest

The same size as a Goldcrest, about 9 cm, but cleaner and brighter. The face is striped: a broad white stripe over the eye, a black line through it and a black edge to the crown. Goldcrest has a plain, blank face. Firecrest is also greener above with a bronze patch on the side of the neck, and whiter below. The crown stripe is orange in males and yellow in females. It often feeds lower down and in broadleaved cover more than a Goldcrest does.

Call and song

The song is a thin, high series of 'zi' notes on one pitch that speeds up and stops. Goldcrest's song cycles up and down and ends in a flourish. The call is a short 'zit zit', slightly lower and harder than a Goldcrest. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Goldcrest: Goldcrest has a plain face with a dark eye in a pale surround and no white stripe over the eye.
• Yellow-browed Warbler: Yellow-browed Warbler has two pale wing bars and a long pale stripe over the eye but no black on the head and no crown stripe.
• Pallas's Leaf Warbler: Pallas's has a striped head too, but shows a lemon-yellow rump when it hovers and a yellow, not white, stripe over the eye.

Related guide Bird migration in Britain.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Common Firecrest is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• GoldcrestCommon · Conifer woodland
• Eurasian WoodcockUncommon · Damp deciduous woodland
• Garden WarblerUncommon · Scrub
• Green WoodpeckerUncommon · Parkland
• HawfinchUncommon · Mature woodland (rare)
• JayUncommon · Oak woodland

Common Firecrest: quick answers

Where can I see a Firecrest in the UK?

Southern England is the place. In spring try large conifer blocks in Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, the Chilterns and East Anglia. In winter try sheltered scrub near the coast from Kent round to Cornwall. Away from the south it is mostly a scarce coastal migrant.

What is the difference between a Firecrest and a Goldcrest?

The face. A Firecrest has a white stripe above the eye and a black line through it. A Goldcrest has neither. Firecrest song stays on one pitch and ends abruptly, which is often the first clue that one is present among Goldcrests.

Is the Firecrest rare in the UK?

Less than it used to be. It only began nesting here in the 1960s and has increased strongly since, probably helped by milder winters. It is still far scarcer than the Goldcrest and absent as a breeder from most of northern Britain.

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