Editing Common firecrest (section)

== Taxonomy and systematics ==
[[File:Regulus ignicapillus Roitelet triple-bandeau.jpg|thumb|A temporarily stunned adult male found on a pavement in [[Lille]], France. The pattern on its head is seen clearly.]]

The kinglets are a small group of birds sometimes included in the [[Old World warbler]]s, but frequently given family status,<ref name = BB852 >{{cite journal |last= Monroe |first= Burt L. |date=February 1992 |title= The new DNA-DNA avian classification: What's it all about? |journal= [[British Birds (magazine)|British Birds]] |volume=85 |issue= 2|pages=53–61 }}</ref> especially as recent research shows that, despite superficial similarities, the crests are [[phylogenetic]]ally remote from the warblers.<ref name= Barker>{{cite journal | last= Barker | first= F Keith | author2=Barrowclough, George F|author3=Groth, Jeff G | year = 2002 | title= A phylogenetic hypothesis for passerine birds: taxonomic and biogeographic implications of an analysis of nuclear DNA sequence data  | journal= [[Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B]] | volume= 269  | pages= 295&ndash;308 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2001.1883 | pmid=11839199 | pmc=1690884 | issue=1488}}</ref><ref name= Spicer>{{cite journal | last= Spicer | first= Greg S |author2=Dunipace, Leslie | year= 2004 | title= Molecular phylogeny of songbirds (Passeriformes) inferred from mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences  | journal= Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume= 30 | issue= 2 | pages= 325&ndash;335 | url = http://online.sfsu.edu/~gs/spicer/pages/spicerpdf/spicerdunipace04.pdf| doi =  10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00193-3 | pmid=14715224}}</ref><ref name= alstrom>{{cite journal | last= Alström | first= Per | author2= Ericson, Per G P | author3= Olsson, Urban | author4= Sundberg, Per | year= 2006 | title= Phylogeny and classification of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea | journal= Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume= 38 | issue= 2 | pages= 381&ndash;397 | url= http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e1d3ca810c24ddc70380001143/Alstr%C3%B6m+et+al+Sylvioidea+MPEV+2006.pdf | doi= 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.015 | pmid= 16054402 | access-date= 2010-11-24 | archive-date= 2021-06-27 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210627134311/https://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e1d3ca810c24ddc70380001143/Alstr%C3%B6m+et+al+Sylvioidea+MPEV+2006.pdf | url-status= dead }}</ref> The names of the family [[Regulidae]], and the genus ''[[kinglet|Regulus]]'', are derived from the [[Latin]] ''regulus'', a diminutive of ''rex'', "a king",<ref name = Chambers>{{cite book | title = The Chambers Dictionary | edition = 9th | year =2006 | publisher = Chambers | location = Edinburgh | pages = 223, 735, 1277 | isbn = 978-0-550-10185-3| title-link = Chambers Dictionary }}</ref> and refer to the characteristic orange or yellow crests of adult kinglets. The common firecrest was first formally [[species description|described]] by Dutch zoologist [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck]] in 1820 as ''Sylvia ignicapilla'';<ref name= Temminck >{{cite book | last = Temminck | first = Coenraad Jacob | author-link = Coenraad Jacob Temminck| title = Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Tableau systematique des oiseaux qui se trouvent en Europe | edition= second | year = 1820–1840 | publisher = H Cousin & E d'Ocagne | location = Paris| page = 231 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BN4TAAAAYAAJ&q=Manuel%20d'ornithologie%2C%20ou%20Tableau%20systematique%20des%20oiseaux%20qui%20se%20trouvent%20en%20Europe&pg=PA231 | language = fr}}</ref> the relatively late identification of this common European bird arose from a perception that it was just a variety of the goldcrest.<ref name= Wood>{{cite book | last = Wood | first = Neville | year = 1836 | title = British song birds: being popular descriptions and anecdotes of the choristers of the groves | location = London| publisher = John W Parker | pages = [https://archive.org/details/britishsongbirds00wood/page/143 143]–145 | url = https://archive.org/details/britishsongbirds00wood| quote = British song birds: being popular descriptions and anecdotes of the choristers of the groves. }}</ref> The species name is derived from Latin ''ignis'' "fire" and ''capillus'' "hair".<ref name = Chambers/> The binomial is frequently given as ''R. ignicapillus'' due to a misunderstanding of Latin grammar.<ref name= aerc2010>{{cite book | author = Crochet, P-A | author2 = Raty, L | author3 = De Smet, G | author4 = Anderson, B | author5 = Barthel, P H | author6 = Collinson, J M | author7 = Dubois, P J | author8 = Helbig, A J | author9 = Jiguet, F | author10 = Jirle, E | author11 = Knox, A G | author12 = Le Maréchal, P | author13 = Parkin, D T | author14 = Pons, J-M | author15 = Roselaar, C S | author16 = Svensson, L | author17 = van Loon, A J | author18 = Yésou, P | title = AERC TAC's Taxonomic Recommendations July 2010 | url = http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/AERC%20TAC%20recommendations%20July%202010%20version%202.0.pdf | year = 2010 | publisher = Association of European Rarity Committees (AERC) | page = 14 }}</ref>

There are two widely recognised subspecies of common firecrest, nominate ''R.&nbsp;i.&nbsp;ignicapilla'' and Mediterranean ''R.&nbsp;i.&nbsp;balearicus'' (Jordans, 1923). The latter form is found on the Balearic Islands and in north Africa, and is slightly paler below and greyer above than the nominate subspecies.<ref name= Baker/> Other subspecies have been claimed, including southeastern ''R.&nbsp;i.&nbsp;caucasicus'', North African ''R.&nbsp;i.&nbsp;laeneni'',<ref name="Packert"/> and [[Crimea]]n ''R.&nbsp;i.&nbsp;tauricus''.<ref name= Redkin>{{cite journal | last= Redkin | first= Y A|  year= 2001| title=  A new subspecies of Firecrest ''Regulus ignicapillus'' (Temminck, 1820) (Regulidae, Passeriformes) from the mountains of the Crimea | journal= Ornitologia | volume= 29 | pages= 98–102 }}</ref> The [[Madeira firecrest]], ''R.&nbsp;madeirensis'', was formerly also considered to be a subspecies of the common firecrest, but [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic]] analysis based on the [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'' gene]] showed that the Madeiran form is distinct at the species level. Cytochrome ''b'' gene divergence between the Madeira firecrest and the European bird is 8.5%, comparable with the divergence level between other recognised ''Regulus'' species, such as the 9% between the goldcrest and the [[golden-crowned kinglet]].<ref name = hbw>Martens, Jochen; Päckert, Martin "Family Regulidae (Kinglets & Firecrests)" pp. 330–349 in {{cite book| editor1-last = Del Hoyo | editor1-first = Josep | editor2-last = Elliott|editor2-first=Andrew|editor3-last=Christie|editor3-first=David A | title = Handbook of the Birds of the World: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers v. 11 | year = 2006 | publisher = [[Lynx Edicions]] | location = Barcelona | isbn = 978-84-96553-06-4 | title-link = Handbook of the Birds of the World }}</ref> The island form also differs in [[morphology (biology)|morphology]] and vocalisations.<ref name= Sangster>{{cite journal | last= Sangster | first= George | author-link = George Sangster | author2= Collinson, J Martin| author3=Helbig, Andreas J| author4=Knox, Alan G| author5=Parkin, David T. | year= 2005| title= Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: third report | journal= [[Ibis (journal)|Ibis]] | volume= 147 | issue= 4 | pages = 821–826 | doi =10.1111/j.1474-919X.2005.00483.x| s2cid= 250043960 | doi-access= free }}</ref> The proposed split was accepted by the [[Association of European Rarities Committees]] (AERC) in 2003,<ref name= aerc >{{cite book | author = AERC Taxonomy Committee | title = AERC TAC's Taxonomic Recommendations | url = http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/AERCTACAccepted.pdf | year = 2003| publisher = [[Association of European Rarities Committees]] | page = 22}}</ref> with most other authorities also splitting it later on.

The [[flamecrest]] or Taiwan firecrest (''Regulus goodfellowi'') of Taiwan has sometimes been viewed as a race of the common firecrest; however, the flamecrest's territorial song, which resembles those of the [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] races of the goldcrest, and genetic data indicate that the flamecrest is closely related to the Himalayan goldcrest and only distantly to the two firecrest species.<ref name= flamecrest>{{cite journal | last= Päckert | first= Martin |author2=Martens, Jochen|author3=Severinghaus, Lucia Liu | year=2008 | title= The Taiwan Firecrest (''Regulus goodfellowi'') belongs to the Goldcrest assemblage (''Regulus regulus'' s. l.): evidence from mitochondrial DNA and the territorial song of the Regulidae  | journal= Journal of Ornithology | volume= 150 | issue = 1 | pages= 205–220 | doi = 10.1007/s10336-008-0335-5 | s2cid= 5626256 }}</ref> The kinglets on the [[Canary Islands]], which were also considered to be close to firecrests, have now been shown to comprise two subspecies of goldcrest.<ref name= pack2006>{{cite journal | last= Päckert | first= Martin | year=2006 | title= Song dialects as diagnostic characters—acoustic differentiation of the Canary Island Goldcrest subspecies ''Regulus regulus teneriffae'' Seebohm 1883 and ''R. r. ellenthalerae'' Päckert et al. 2006 (Aves: Passeriformes: Regulidae) | journal= Zootaxa | volume= 1325 | pages= 99–115| doi= 10.11646/zootaxa.1325.1.7 }}</ref>

=== Fossils ===
There are a few [[Pleistocene]] (2.6&nbsp;million to 12,000&nbsp;years ago) records from Europe and Israel of extant ''Regulus'' species, mostly goldcrests or unidentifiable to species, but also a Spanish specimen of firecrest. A left [[ulna]] from Bulgaria was identified as belonging to a fossil species, ''[[Regulus bulgaricus]]'', from 2.6&ndash;1.95&nbsp;[[mya (unit)|mya]]. This appears to be ancestral to the common firecrest, with the goldcrest diverging from this lineage in the Middle Pleistocene.<ref name=Boev>{{cite journal|last=Boev |first=Zlatozar |year=1999 |title=''Regulus bulgaricus'' sp. n. – the first fossil Kinglet (Aves: Sylviidae) from the Late Pliocene of Varshets, Western Bulgaria |journal=Historia Naturalis Bulgarica |volume=10 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31093140#page/111/mode/1up |pages=109–115}}</ref>