Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) by Ian

Goldcrest – The Royal Crown ~ by a j mithra

The Goldcrest, Regulus regulus, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers gives rise to its English and scientific names, and possibly to it being called the “king of the birds” in European folklore. It has a plain face contrasting black irises and a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding.

• God has created us in His own image and that is why He loves to call us as the Royal Priest..
• The yellow crest is displayed during breeding season..
• But, God calls us as His crown and we shall be a crown to our Jesus, our bridegroom, face to face…

“Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” Isaiah 62:3

The typical contact call of the Goldcrest is a thin, high-pitched zee given at intervals of 1–4 seconds, with all the notes at the same pitch. It sometimes has a more clipped ending, or is delivered more rapidly. The call is higher and less rough than that of the Firecrest. The song of the male Goldcrest is a very high, thin double note cedar, repeated 5–7 times and ending in a flourish, cedar­cedar-cedar-cedar-cedar-stichi-see-pee. The entire song lasts 3–4 seconds and is repeated 5–7 times a minute. This song, often uttered while the male is foraging, can be heard in most months of the year. The song is a repetition of high thin notes, slightly higher-pitched than those of its relative. The songs of mainland Goldcrests vary only slightly across their range and consist of a single song type, but much more divergence has occurred the isolated Macaronesian populations.

Not only are there variations between islands and within an island, but individual males on the Azores can have up to three song types. The dialects on the Azores fall into two main groups, neither of which elicited a response from male European Goldcrests in playback experiments. There are also two main dialect groups on the Canary islands, a widespread group similar to the European version, and another which is restricted to the mountains of Tenerife. The song variations have been used to investigate the colonisation pattern of the Macaronesian islands by Goldcrests, and identified a previously unknown subspecies.

• Though these birds have a thin high two note song, they still have different song dialects for different places and can be heard most of the year..
• We may be from different places but still we have one song which we all are singing and would be singing over and over again..

That songs is , “ALLELUIA”

1) And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
2) For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3)And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
4) And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
5) And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
6) And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelations 19:1 – 6

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) Male displaying ©WikiC

The Goldcrest breeds in mature lowland and mountain coniferous woodlands, mainly up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft), and occasionally to 4,800 m (15,800 ft). It uses spruce, Larch, Scots Pine, Silver Fir and Mountain Pine. Though this bird is just about 4.5 to 7.0 grams in weight, it breeds so high…

• If these small 8.5 to 9.5 cm long birds can fly that high, how far should we be able to fly?
• We all want to fly like an Eagle, but are we willing to pay the price of waiting upon the Lord?

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

A study in the Baltic region showed that northern Goldcrests were more likely to migrate, and increased their body mass beforehand; non-migratory
southern birds did not increase their fat reserves. The travel speed of migrating Goldcrests increased for those leaving later in the autumn, and was greater for the northernmost populations. Migration was faster on routes that crossed the Baltic Sea than on coastal routes, the birds with the largest fat reserves travelled at the highest speeds. The ability to lay down fat is adversely affected in this tiny bird by poor health Goldcrests can fly 250–800 km (150–500 mi) in one day, although they keep at a lower level in heavy headwinds.

• These birds seem to know how to tackle the heavy wind, by flying at a lower level..
• Here is a secret these birds seem to teach us..
• They seem to tell us that we need to fly at a lower level, to fly long and fast…
• Believers find it so difficult to fly low, everyone wants to be seen high..

But, God’s expects us to be different…

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Mathew 23:12)

The Goldcrest is monogamous. The male sings during the breeding season, usually while foraging rather than from a perch. It has a display which involves bowing its head towards another bird and raising the coloured crest. A male Goldcrest will defend his territory against either species, sometimes including some Firecrest phrases in his song.

• Goldcrest’s songs, helps in defending its territory from other species…
• Our songs too has the power to defend us from all evil..
• It is in our praises that our Lord loves to dwell…
• Remember, our God is in spirit, so, where there is spirit there is liberty and our praise has the power to bring THE SPIRIT in our midst to liberate us..

So let’s sing and not let GOD dwell in heaven but amongst our praises..

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3)

The Goldcrest’s nest is a well-insulated cup-shaped structure built in three layers. The nest’s outer layer is made from moss, small twigs, cobwebs and lichen, the cobwebs also being used to attach the nest to the thin branches that support it. The middle layer is moss, which is lined by an inner layer of feathers and hair. The nest is larger, shallower and less compact than that of the Firecrest, with an internal diameter of about 9.0 cm (3.5 in), and is constructed by both sexes, although the female does most of the work. Laying starts at the end of April into early May. The eggs are whitish with very indistinct buff, grey or brown markings at the broad end. The eggs are 14 × 10 mm (0.55 × 0.34 in) and weigh 0.8 g (0.028 oz), of which 5% is shell.

The clutch size in Europe is typically 9–11 eggs, but ranges from 6–13. The eggs are piled up in the nest and the female keeps the eggs warm with her brood patch and also by putting her warm legs into the middle of the pile between the eggs. Within a clutch the size of eggs increases gradually and the last laid egg may be 20% larger than the first egg. Second clutches, which are common, are laid usually while the first nest still has young. The male builds the second nest, then feeds the young in the first nest while the female is incubating in the second; when the first brood has fledged, he joins the female in feeding the second brood.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) female ©WikiC

The female Goldcrest is not normally fed by her mate while incubating. She is a tight sitter, reluctant to leave the nest when disturbed, and has been recorded as continuing to attend the nest when it has been moved, or even when it is being held. The eggs are maintained at 36.5 °C (97.7 °F), the female regulating the temperature of the eggs by varying the time spent sitting. She leaves the nest more with increasing air temperature, and incubates more tightly when the light intensity is lower early and late in the day.

• The female bird sits tight when the light intensity is lower…
• When darkness surrounds, we need to be still and wait until THE LIGHT shines on us..
• It also regulates the temperature of the eggs at 36.5 °C (97.7 °F)…
• Is the intensity of the spiritual fire in us constant?
• Or is God upset over us for having left our first love?

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.: (Revelation 2: 4)

Let us walk as children of light before eternal darkness fall over…

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

The female incubates the eggs for 16 to 19 days to hatching, and broods the chicks, which fledge in a further 17 to 22 days later. Both parents feed the chicks and fledged young, and in very hot weather, the female has been noted as taking drops of water to her chicks in her bill.

• To carry water in its tiny bill to its tiny chick is incredible…
• What a thoughtful mother this bird could be!
• If this bird could be so incredible, how incredible its creator would be?

These birds carry water only to its chicks but, listen to what our God says…

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: (Isaiah 44:3)

He also says,

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit (Joel 2:28)

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus regulus) ©WikiC

The Goldcrest takes a wide variety of prey, especially spiders, caterpillars, bugs, springtails and flies. Larger prey such as oak bush crickets and tortrix moths may sometimes be taken. Goldcrests will occasionally feed on the ground amongst leaf-litter with tits. Non-animal food is rare, although Goldcrests have been seen drinking sap from broken birch twigs together with tits and nuthatches. Flying insects are taken in hovering flight but not nomally pursued; there is a record of a Goldcrest attacking a large dragonfly in flight, only to be dragged along by the insect before releasing it unharmed.

• The devil may try to drag you, but it can never ever harm you, for you are carved in His palm ..
• God doesn’t want to go blind for you are the apple of His eye…

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)

But we need to pay a price to inherit this the promise..

Serve the Lord and He shall save you from every weapon and every tongue..

Several small passerine species survive freezing winter nights by inducing a lower metabolic rate and hypothermia, of a maximum of 10 °C (18 °F) below normal body temperature,in order to reduce energy consumption overnight. However, in freezing conditions, it may be that for very small birds, including the tiny Goldcrest, the energy economies of induced hypothermia may be insufficient to counterbalance the negative effects of hypothermia including the energy required to raise body temperature back to normal at dawn.

Observations of five well-fed birds suggest that they maintain normal body temperatures during cold nights by metabolising fat laid down during the day, and that they actually use behavioural thermoregulation strategies, such as collective roosting in dense foliage or snow holes to survive winter nights. Two birds roosting together reduce their heat loss by a quarter, and three birds by a third. During an 18 hour winter night, with temperatures as low as −25 °C (−13 °F) in the north of its range,

• Goldcrests huddled together can each burn off fat equivalent to 20% of body weight to keep warm…
• Did someone preach the word of God or give them a Bible to read?
• How come they know that they can keep themselves warm by staying together?
• Who taught them?
• Does the church stay together to keep themselves on fire?

Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes (4:11-12)

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) and Pliny (23 AD – 79) both wrote about the legend of a contest amongst the birds to see who should be their king, the title to be awardedto the one that could fly highest. Initially, it looked as though the eagle would win easily, but as he began to tire, a small bird which had hidden under the eagle’s tail feathers, emerged to fly even higher and claimed the title.

• This may sound like a folklore but there is point for us to remember..
• God carries us like an Eagle in His wings….

Jesus said. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12)

God has called us to do greater things, come, let us hide under His wings…

Have a blessed day!

Your’s in YESHUA,
a j mithra

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ajmithra21

Lee’s Addition:

The Goldcrest are in the Regulidae Family of the Passeriformes Order.

See Also:
Goldcrests and Kinglets – Regulidae Family – It has a video of Goldcrest building a nest by Keith Blomerley.