The Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), along with the Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) is the UK’s smallest bird, weighing just 5.5 grams – about the weight of a 10 pence piece!
Needless to say, this bird was definitely going to be a challenge due to it’s size, so I have been putting it off for a while now.
Small birds seem to just fall apart from even the warmth of your hands, so did 90% of this project with tweezers alone!
After soaking in an alcohol solution to set the feathers and prevent bacteria before I started work.
It was extremely fiddly to do, but over all I am pretty happy with how this little one has turned out!
The hardest part was probably wiring the legs.
On all birds, to be able to attach them to their base/perch, I have to insert wire through the ball of their foot, all the way up their legs into the body cavity, where they are attached to the body form.
Take a look at the ‘behind the scenes’ photos to really get a sense of just how small this specimen is!
