Goldcrest

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tiny woodland bird of Europe with a bright yellow-and-orange crest on its head, the smallest songbird on the continent
2. The smallest European songbird, recognized by the vivid golden stripe running across the crown of its head
3. A minuscule olive-green bird found in conifer forests, distinguished by a striking gold crest atop its head

Etymology: The goldcrest is named for the bright yellow-orange patch that crowns the head of the male bird, a stripe that can be raised like a small flame when it is excited. Its name is a plain compound of "gold" and "crest," and the bird is one of the smallest in Europe, weighing only a few grams, so the flash of colour on such a tiny body is what would have caught an observer's eye. The name describes a feature rather than a legend, which is typical of many older English bird names. "Crest" comes from a word for a tuft or ridge on the head, and "gold" supplies the colour, so the whole word reads almost like a field description. The bird is also sometimes called the kinglet in the same family of tiny crested songbirds, a name that points to its crown in a different way.

Synonyms: kinglet