The Tenerife goldcrest, ''Regulus regulus teneriffae'', (sometimes considered a separate species, ''R. teneriffae'') is a very small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird in the kinglet family, closely resembling the

goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden Crest (feathers), crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its Englis ...

but with a broader black band across the forehead, slightly darker underparts and a longer bill. It breeds in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

and

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third-smallest of the archipelago's eight main islands. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. La Gomer ...

, where it is a non-migratory resident. It prefers Canary Island Pine forests, but also occurs in

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

forests. The populations on

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

and El Hierro, previously thought to belong to this taxon, are now recognized as, at least, a distinct subspecies, the Western Canary Islands goldcrest ''R. (r.) ellenthalerae'' (Päckert ''et al.'', 2006), which evolved from an independent colonisation of the islands.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern * Päckert, Martin; Dietzen, Christian; Martens, Jochen; Wink, Michael & Kvist, Laura: Radiation of Atlantic goldcrests ''Regulus regulus'' spp.: evidence of a new taxon from the Canary Islands. ''Journal of Avian Biology'' 37(4): 364–380.

Digital Object Identifier A digital object identifier (DOI) is a persistent identifier or handle used to uniquely identify various objects, standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). DOIs are an implementation of the Handle System; th ...

: 10.1111/j.2006.0908-8857.03533.
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Regulus (bird) Birds of the Canary Islands Birds described in 1883 Endemic fauna of the Canary Islands Subspecies Taxa named by Henry Seebohm {{passeri-stub fr:Roitelet de Teneriffe