Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 18, 2013

The Madeira Firecrest is a very small passerine bird that is endemic to the island of Madeira. It is a member of the kinglet family. Before it was recognised as a separate species in 2003, it was classified as a subspecies of the Common Firecrest. It differs in appearance and vocalisations from its relative, and genetic analysis suggests evolutionary separation took place roughly 4 million years ago. It is small and plump, 9–10 cm (3.5–3.9 in) long and weighing about 5 g (0.18 oz). It has green upperparts, whitish underparts and two white wingbars, and a distinctive head pattern with a black eye stripe, short white supercilium, and a crest that is mainly orange in the male and yellow in the female. The female Madeira Firecrest builds a spherical nest from cobwebs, moss and small twigs, and she incubates the eggs and broods the chicks on her own. Both parents feed the young. This species forages for insects and other small invertebrates in tree heath, laurisilva and other woodland. It is common within its restricted range, living mainly at higher levels from 600–1,550 m (1,950–4,900 ft) in all types of forests and scrub, and is not considered to be threatened. (Full article...)

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