Summary
The Tenerife goldcrest, Regulus regulus teneriffae, (sometimes considered a separate species, R. teneriffae) is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family, closely resembling the goldcrest but with a broader black band across the forehead, slightly darker underparts and a longer bill. It breeds in the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera, where it is a non-migratory resident. It prefers Canary Island Pine forests, but also occurs in laurisilva forests.
| Tenerife goldcrest | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Regulidae |
| Genus: | Regulus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | R. r. teneriffae
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| Trinomial name | |
| Regulus regulus teneriffae Seebohm, 1883
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The populations on La Palma 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 edit
- BirdLife International (2004). "Regulus teneriffae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2006. 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: 10.1111/j.2006.0908-8857.03533.x HTML abstract Electronic Appendices