Quercus turbinella is a shrub growing 2–5 metres (6+1⁄2–16+1⁄2 feet) in height but sometimes becoming treelike and exceeding 6 m (20 ft). The branches are gray or brown, the twigs often coated in short woolly fibers when young and becoming scaly with age. The thick, leathery evergreen leaves are up to 3 centimetres (1+1⁄4 inches) long by 2 cm (3⁄4 in) wide  and are edged with large, spine-tipped teeth. They are gray-green to yellowish in color and waxy in texture on the upper surfaces, and yellowish and hairy or woolly and glandular on the lower surfaces. The males catkins are yellowish-green and the female flowers are in short spikes in the leaf axils, appearing at the same time as the new growth of leaves. The fruit is a yellowish brown acorn up to two centimeters long with a shallow warty cup about a centimeter wide. This oak reproduces sexually via its acorns if there is enough moisture present, but more often it reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome and root crown.


Quercus turbinella has been found in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, southern California, and western Texas, as well as Baja California. In California, it occurs in the New York mountains and a few eastern California desert ranges. The populations on the desert mountains in the western Mojave desert and the inner coastal ranges are now considered Quercus john-tuckeri. It grows in woodland, chaparral, forest, and other habitat. It is most common in chaparral habitat in central Arizona, through the transition zone of the Mogollon Rim–White Mountains, but also southeast Arizona in the Madrean Sky Island mountain ranges of sky islands.


Quercus turbinella easily hybridizes with other oak species, including Quercus gambelii, Q. havardii, Q. arizonica, and Q. grisea. Many species of animals use it for food, with wild and domesticated ungulates browsing the foliage and many birds and mammals eating the acorns. Animals also use the shrub as cover, and mountain lions hide their kills in the thickets.


Quercus virginiana, also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South. Many very large and old specimens of live oak can be found today in the Deep South region of the United States.


Although live oaks retain their leaves nearly year-round, they are not true evergreens. Live oaks drop their leaves immediately before new leaves emerge in the spring. Occasionally, senescing leaves may turn yellow or contain brown spots in the winter, leading to the mistaken belief that the tree has oak wilt, whose symptoms typically occur in the summer. A live oak's defoliation may occur sooner in marginal climates or in dry or cold winters.
The bark is dark, thick, and furrowed longitudinally.  The leaves are stiff and leathery, with the tops shiny dark green and the bottoms pale gray and very tightly tomentose, simple and typically flattish with bony-opaque margins, with a length of 2–15 centimetres (3⁄4–6 inches) and a width of 1–5 cm (3⁄8–2 in), borne alternately. The male flowers are green hanging catkins with lengths of 7.5–10 cm (3–4 in). The acorns are small, 1–2.5 cm (3⁄8–1 in), oblong in shape (ovoid or oblong-ellipsoid), shiny and tan-brown to nearly black, often black at the tips, and borne singly or in clusters.
Depending on the growing conditions, live oaks vary from a shrub-size to large and spreading tree-size: typical open-grown trees reach 20 m (66 ft) in height, with a limb spread of nearly 27 m (89 ft). Their lower limbs often sweep down towards the ground before curving up again. They can grow at severe angles; Native Americans used to bend saplings over so that they would grow at extreme angles, to serve as trail markers.
The southern live oak has a deep taproot that anchors it when young and eventually develops into an extensive and widespread root system.  This, along with its low center of gravity and other factors, makes the southern live oak extremely resistant to strong sustained winds, such as those seen in hurricanes.


A large number of common names are used for this tree, including "Virginia live oak", "bay live oak", "scrub live oak", "plateau oak", "plateau live oak", "escarpment live oak", and (in Spanish) "roble". It is also often just called "live oak" within its native area, but the full name "southern live oak" helps to distinguish it from other live oaks, a general term for any evergreen species of oak.
This profusion of common names partly reflects an ongoing controversy about the classification of various live oaks, in particular its near relatives among the white oaks (Quercus subgenus Quercus, section Quercus). Some authors recognize as distinct species the forms others consider to be varieties of Quercus virginiana. Notably, the following two taxa, treated as species in the Flora of North America, are treated as varieties of southern live oak by the United States Forest Service: the escarpment live oak, Quercus fusiformis (Q. virginiana var. fusiformis) and
the sand live oak, Quercus geminata (Q. virginiana var. geminata).
Matters are further complicated by southern live oaks hybridizing with both of the above two species, and also with the dwarf live oak (Q. minima), swamp white oak (Q. bicolor), Durand oak (Q. durandii), overcup oak (Q. lyrata), bur oak (Q. macrocarpa), and post oak (Q. stellata).


One source states that the southern live oak responds "with vigorous growth to plentiful moisture on well-drained soil." They tend to survive fire, because often a fire will not reach their crowns. Even if a tree is burned, its crowns and roots usually survive the fire and sprout vigorously. Furthermore, live oak forests discourage entry of fire from adjacent communities because they provide dense cover that discourages the growth of a flammable understory. They can withstand occasional floods and hurricanes, and are resistant to salt spray and moderate soil salinity.  Although they grow best in well-drained sandy soils and loams, they will also grow in clay.
The branches frequently support other plant species such as rounded clumps of ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata), thick drapings of Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides), and parasitic mistletoe.


Southern live oak is cultivated in warmer climates as a specimen tree or for shade in the southern United States (zone 8 and south), Nuevo León and Tamaulipas states in Mexico, and in the warmer parts of the United States, Europe, and Australia. Cultivation is relatively simple, as southern live oak seedlings grow fast with ample soil moisture. After a few years live oak needs only occasional supplemental water. Southern live oak is very long lived, and there are many specimens that are more than 400 years old in the deep southern United States. The southern live oak is reliably hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 8a, which places its northern limit for long-term cultivation inland around Atlanta and Memphis.


Live oak wood is hard, heavy, and difficult to work with, but very strong.  In the days of wooden ships, live oaks were the preferred source of the framework timbers of the ship, using the natural trunk and branch angles for their strength. The frame of USS Constitution was constructed from southern live oak wood harvested from St. Simons Island, Georgia, and the density of the wood grain allowed it to survive cannon fire, thus earning her the nickname "Old Ironsides".  Even today, the U.S. Navy continues to own extensive live oak tracts.
The primary uses for southern live oaks today are providing food and shelter for wildlife. Among the animals for which live oak acorns are an important food source are the bobwhite quail, the threatened Florida scrub jay, the wood duck, yellow-bellied sapsucker, wild turkey, black bear, various species of squirrel, and the white-tailed deer. The tree crown is very dense, making it valuable for shade, and the species provides nest sites for many mammal species. Native Americans extracted a cooking oil from the acorns, used all parts of live oak for medicinal purposes, leaves for making rugs, and bark for dyes.  The roots of seedlings sometimes form starchy, edible tubers.  People in past centuries harvested and fried these tubers for human consumption much as one might use a potato.
In 1937, the southern live oak was designated the official state tree of Georgia (U.S. state).


The Seven Sisters Oak, estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 years old, is the largest certified southern live oak tree.
The Angel Oak on Johns Island, South Carolina, near Charleston is estimated to be 400–500 years old.  It has a trunk circumference of  8.5 m (28 ft), height of 20.3 m (66 ft 6 in) and limb spread of 57 m (187 ft).
The Big Tree is an estimated 1,000-year-old southern live oak located in Rockport, Texas, the largest live oak in Texas.
The Boyington Oak, an approximately 180-year-old southern live oak in Mobile, Alabama, that is known for the folklore surrounding its origin.
The Cellon Oak, with a circumference of 9 m (30 ft), a height of 26 m (85 ft), and an average crown spread of 49 m (160 ft), is the largest recorded live oak tree in Florida. It is used as the logo of Alachua County, Florida.
The Duffie Oak, a more than 300-year-old southern live oak in Mobile, Alabama, has a trunk circumference of 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in), height of 15 m (48 ft) and limb spread of 38 m (126 ft). It is the oldest living landmark in the city.
The Emancipation Oak, on the campus of Hampton University in Virginia, is listed as one of the "Ten Great Trees of the World" by the National Geographic Society.
The Century Tree (photo), planted in 1891 on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, is a campus landmark and has been declared a Famous Tree of Texas by the Texas Forest Service.
The Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville, Louisiana
The Friendship Oak is a 500-year-old southern live oak located on the Gulf Park campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Long Beach, Mississippi.
The Lover's Oak in Brunswick, Georgia, is estimated to be 900 years old.
Lanier's Oak in Brunswick, Georgia, where poet Sidney Lanier was inspired to write "The Marshes of Glynn"
The Treaty Oak in Austin, Texas
The Treaty Oak in Jacksonville, Florida
The Bland Oak in Sydney, Australia, is one of the oldest trees in the city and the largest oak tree in the country, planted in the 1840s by inventor and politician William Bland.
The Airlie Oak in Wilmington, NC dates to about 1545. It is the largest Live Oak in North Carolina, with a circumference of over 6.4 m (21 ft).
The Big Oak in Thomasville, Georgia.
The Baranoff Oak in Safety Harbor, Florida is reportedly the oldest live oak in Pinellas County, Florida and is estimated to be between 300 and 500 years old.
McDonogh Oak in City Park, New Orleans, LA is around 800 years old and several beams have been erected to support the trees’ limbs. The tree was named in honor of John McDonogh who donated City Park’s original 100 acres in 1854.


Quercus wislizeni, known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in many areas of California in the United States continuing south into northern Baja California in Mexico. It generally occurs in foothills, being most abundant in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, but also widespread in the Pacific Coast Ranges—where since 1980 it has been known as a separate species Quercus parvula—and the San Gabriel Mountains. It was named for its collector, Friedrich Adolph Wislizenus (1810–1889).


It is a large shrub or tree growing to 22 metres (72 feet) tall, although where it is common in the low-elevation Sierra Nevada foothills it seldom exceeds 10 m (33 ft). The dark-green leaves—appearing grayish from a distance—are usually small, 2–5 centimetres (1–2 inches) long, thick, and often spiny-toothed at higher elevations, particularly on young trees. The male flowers are on catkins, the female flowers in leaf axils. The acorns are 1–2 cm (1⁄2–1 in) long, and mature the second season (about 18 months) after flowering.


Although originally published by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle as "wislizeni", some sources, e.g., Jensen in Flora of North America, mistakenly spelled the specific epithet "wislizenii." Correct spelling is with one "i," per ICN article 60C.2. Wislizenus' specimen was thought by de Candolle to have been collected in Chihuahua, Mexico. However, German-born American botanist Georg Engelmann later corrected the location to the American fork of the Sacramento River near Auburn, California.
California physician and botanist (and one of the founding fathers of the California Academy of Sciences) Albert Kellogg described an oak in an 1855 publication as Quercus arcoglandis (spur acorn oak), apparently the same species as Q. wislizeni. This clearly predates French-Swiss botanist de Candolle's 1864 name, and if confirmed to be this same taxon would have priority. More investigation is needed to resolve this taxonomic conflict.
Currently there are two recognized varieties of interior live oak:
Q. wislizeni A. DC. var. wislizeni (1864)
Q. wislizeni A. DC. var. frutescens Engelm (1878). This is an invalid taxon. Engelmann's Q. wislizeni var. frutescens description is virtually identical to de Candolle's Q. wislizeni, while Engelmann's Q. wislizeni description most closely matches Kellogg's Q. morehus.


The interior live oak is a red oak (section Lobatae) in the California Floristic Province (series Agrifoliae). Q. wislizeni hybridizes with California black oak (Q. kelloggii) (= Quercus × morehus, Abram's oak). All California red oaks show evidence of introgression and/or hybridization with one another.
A common alliant tree is gray pine (Pinus sabiniana).
Deer browse the tree's foliage.


Racomitrium lanuginosum is a widespread species of moss found in montane and arctic tundra across the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It grows as large mats on exposed rock and in boulder scree, particularly on acidic rocks. Its leaves have a characteristically decurrent and toothed hair-point, which gives rise to its regional common names woolly fringemoss, hoary rock-moss and woolly moss.


Racomitrium lanuginosum grows as "large cushiony mats". Its stems are up to 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long and irregularly branched. The leaves are 3–5 millimetres (0.12–0.20 in) long, 0.6–0.9 mm (0.02–0.04 in) wide, lanceolate, pointed and with a strong midrib. They end in a long, thin hair-point, with teeth along both sides pointing 40°–90° from the axis of the leaf. The hyaline (transparent) margins of the hair-point are decurrent along the sides of the leaf. Especially when dry, these hair-points give the plant a downy appearance, which is referenced in several of the common names for the species.
Sporophytes are rarely produced, although they are reported to be abundant in coastal areas. The capsules are 1.0–1.7 mm (0.04–0.07 in) long, smooth and brown, and contain spores, which are 8–12 μm long. The form of the hair-points on the leaves of R. lanuginosum is unique among mosses.


Racomitrium lanuginosum is "one of the few bryophytes familiar to many non-bryologists". Other species that may be confused with it include R. canescens and its close relatives, R. heterostichum and Hedwigia stellata.


Racomitrium lanuginosum grows from sea level to the alpine zone, particularly among boulder scree and on exposed rock surfaces. It will also grow in tundra or bogs. It is more frequently found on acidic rocks than calcareous ones.
Racomitrium lanuginosum has a circumpolar distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, and is found disjunctly in the mountains of the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere.
Within North America, R. lanuginosum is found widely across northern Canada, and extends further south both in the east (to Maine), and in the west (to California and the Rocky Mountains). It is also found in Costa Rica and in mountainous regions of South America and South Africa.
In the Atlantic Ocean, isolated population occur on Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Tristan da Cunha and South Georgia; it also occurs on Réunion in the Indian Ocean, in New Zealand, Hawaii and the sub-Antarctic islands Deception Island, Kerguelen, Îles Crozet, Heard Island and the Prince Edward Islands.
As well as occurring widely across Arctic Asia, R. lanuginosum is also found in some temperate and tropical mountains on Borneo, Java, Sumatra and New Guinea. In Australia, R. lanuginosum is restricted to Tasmania and the highest ground of the Great Dividing Range on the border of New South Wales and Victoria.


Racomitrium lanuginosum was first described by Johann Hedwig in 1801 as Trichostomum lanuginosum. It was moved to its current genus in 1818 when Samuel Elisée Bridel-Brideri established the genus Racomitrium, and that position was cemented in 1860 when Wilhelm Philippe Schimper designated R. lanuginosum as the type species of Racomitrium. Racomitrium lanuginosum is classified in Racomitrium sect. Racomitrium, a group that also contains the species R. geronticum and R. pruinosum.
Racomitrium lanuginosum is known by a variety of vernacular names around the world. In the British Isles, it is known as the "woolly fringe-moss", in Canada as the "hoary rock-moss", and in New Zealand as "woolly moss".


Rafinesquia californica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names California chicory and California plumeseed. It looks like a weedy daisy, bearing heads of elegant white-petaled flowers. The ligules of the flowers are often striped with lavender or pink on the undersides, a feature most noticeable when the heads are closed. Each fruit has a pappus of stiff white or light brown hairs.
It is among the first plants to sprout up in areas recently cleared by fire. Indeed, the seeds germinate more readily in the presence of burned wood. It is native to most of the southwestern United States as far north as Oregon, and to Baja California in Mexico.


Rafinesquia neomexicana is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.  Common names include desert chicory, plumeseed, or New Mexico plumeseed. It has white showy flowers, milky sap, and weak, zigzag stems, that may grow up through other shrubs for support. It is an annual plant (completes its life cycle in a single season) found in dry climate areas of the southwestern deserts of the US and northwestern deserts of Mexico.


The annual plants are gray-green with sparse foliage and are between 15 and 50 centimetres (6 and 19+1⁄2 inches) high. Basal leaves are 5 to 20 cm (2 to 8 in) long and pinnate with narrow lobes while leaves further up the stem are smaller.
White flowerheads appear at the end of the stems between May and June in the species native range.
Flower heads occur singly at the tip of branches. The flower heads are composed of strap-shaped ray flowers, growing longer toward the outer portion of the head, and collectively creating the appearance of a single flower as in other sunflower family plants. The outer flowers in the head extend well beyond the 1.5–2.5 cm (1⁄2–1 in) long phyllaries (bracts enclosing the flower head before opening).
Similar species include R. californica and Calycoseris wrightii.


In the United States the species occurs in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It occurs in the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora.
It is found in the Mojave Desert, and in the Sonoran Deserts including the Colorado Desert sub-region.
It occurs in sandy or gravelly soils in creosote bush scrub and Joshua Tree woodland plant communities in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert, from California to Texas and northern Mexico.


Rainieria antennaepes is a species of stilt-legged flies in the family Micropezidae found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The name "antennaepes" means "antenna foot". They frequently hold their white-tipped front legs up and wave them around in a manner that makes them appear like the antennae of ichneumonid wasps. They feed on detritus, bird droppings, and similar waste.
Rainieria antennaepes is the only member of its genus found in North America.


The clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined.  The Ridgway's rail (formerly the California clapper rail) and the mangrove rail have been recently split.  Furthermore, some taxonomists consider that the King rail and Aztec rail should be considered within this group, as those birds look similar and the birds are known to interbreed where they share territories.


The clapper rail is found along the Atlantic coasts of the eastern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, eastern Mexico, some Caribbean islands, and south through eastern Central America, as well at several inland locales.
Populations are stable on the East Coast of the U.S., although the numbers of this bird have declined due to habitat loss.
Clapper rails are saltmarsh specialists, and are highly mobile across their range, with females showing weak philopatry and a lack of philopatry in males.


Currently named subspecies of the clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) include:
Rallus c. belizensis—Ycacos clapper rail; Ycacos Lagoon, Belize
Rallus c. caribaeus—Caribbean clapper rail
Rallus c. coryi
Rallus c. crepitans, nominate
Rallus c. grossi
Rallus c. insularum
Rallus c. leucophaeus
Rallus c. pallidus
Rallus c. saturatus—Gulf Coast clapper rail; U.S. Gulf Coasts of southwest Alabama through Texas, and of Tamaulipas (México).
Rallus c. scottii
Rallus c. waynei


The clapper rail is a chicken-sized bird that rarely flies. It is grayish brown with a pale chestnut breast and a noticeable white patch under the tail. Its bill curves slightly downwards.


The twig nest is placed low in mangrove roots, and 3-7 purple-spotted buff eggs are laid.


The silver-beaked tanager (Ramphocelus carbo) is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder in South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, Perú  and on Trinidad.  It is common and conspicuous.
Silver-beaked tanagers are 18 centimetres (7 in) long and weigh 25 grams (0.88 oz). Adult males are velvety crimson black with a deep crimson throat and breast. The upper mandible of the bill is black, but the enlarged lower mandible is bright silver in appearance. The bill is pointed upwards in display. The female is much duller, with brownish upperparts, reddish brown underparts and a black bill.
There is considerable plumage variation between the various subspecies, differing mainly in the degree of contrast between the upperparts and the throat and breast.
It occurs in light woodland and cultivated areas. The bulky cup nest is usually built in a bush, and the normal clutch is two green-blue eggs blotched with black-brown. The female incubates the eggs for 11–13 days before they hatch. The chicks fledge after another 11–12 days.
Individuals may live at least 11 years in the wild.
These are social birds which eat mainly fruit, but vines, nectar, short grass and insects are also taken. The silver-beaked tanager is often seen in groups of six to ten, frequently giving a call described as cheeng. Its song is a slow thin kick-wick.
The silver-beaked tanager was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Lanius carbo.


The crimson-backed tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela, and introduced to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. A nickname in Panama is sangre de toro ("Blood of the bull").
The crimson-backed tanager was first described by French naturalist Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1837. It is one of nine species of brightly coloured tanagers of the genus Ramphocelus. Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates its closest relative is the masked crimson tanager (R. nigrogularis), and the two split around 800,000 years ago.
Measuring around 18 cm (7.1 in) in length, the adult male has a silver sheen on its lower mandible. Its whole head and chest are a maroon red, brightening to a bright red on its lower back and abdomen. Its wings and tail are black. The female is duller with blackish underparts.
It is found in northern and western Colombia (south to Chocó where it is uncommon), the Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela, and over most of Panama, where it extends to Chiriquí and Veraguas Provinces in the west of the country, as well as Coiba, where it is abundant, and Pearl Islands. It inhabits forest, scrub and gardens.
A nest with a clutch of two blue eggs with fine dark dots has been recorded.
A field study on blood parasites found that two individual crimson-backed tanagers (out of twelve tested) bore Plasmodium, with the study concluding the overall rate was low compared with studies done elsewhere.


Ranunculus abortivus is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Its common names include littleleaf buttercup, small-flower crowfoot, small-flowered buttercup, and kidneyleaf buttercup. It is widespread across much of North America, found in all ten Canadian provinces as well as Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and most of the United States, except Hawaii, Oregon, California, and parts of the Southwest.
The specific epithet abortivus is an adjective from Latin aborior "pass away". It is unknown to what it refers, but it might describe the small petals that look like they have not fully developed.


Ranunculus abortivus produces erect stems 10 to 60 cm (4 to 24 in) tall. The leaves are variable in shape, and both stems and leaves are hairless. The basal leaves are kidney-shaped to circular and persistent, with scalloped margins, and the stem leaves are alternate and deeply lobed or divided. Those at the bottom have long petioles (stems), those at the top are shorter-stemmed to stemless, with narrow blades or lobes.
Each stem can bear up to 50 flowers. The flower has five petals up to 1.5 to 3.5 mm (1⁄16 to 1⁄8 in) long, with a ring of stamens around a round cluster of green carpels. The carpels develop into brown, shiny rounded and slightly flattened achenes with a tiny beak. It grows in rich, moist woods and alluvial areas.


The flowers produce both nectar and pollen, which is eaten or gathered by small bees, ladybugs, and hoverflies and other kinds of flies. The seeds and leaves are an occasional food source for animals. The seeds are eaten by small rodents, such as the eastern chipmunk and meadow vole. As in other buttercups, the leaves are mildly toxic, containing a blistering agent, but they are eaten by cottontail rabbits. Both the leaves and seeds are eaten by turkeys.


The plant had a variety of uses among Native American groups. The Cherokee cooked and ate the leaves. They used it medicinally for abscesses and sore throat and as a sedative. The Iroquois used it for snakebite and poisoning, smallpox, and toothache.


Ranunculus auricomus, known as goldilocks buttercup or Greenland buttercup, is a perennial species of buttercup native to Eurasia. It is a calcicole typically found in moist woods and at the margins of woods. It is apomictic, and several hundred agamospecies have been recognised.


Ranunculus auricomus is a short and slightly hairy perennial herb with bright yellow flowers. It can reach a height between 30–50 centimetres (20 in), and have as many as 10 palmately-lobed basal leaves. Its upper stem leaves are deeply divided into 3-5 narrow segments giving the plant a filiform appearance. Its flowers are frequently imperfect or missing, making it difficult to identify Ranunculus auricomus by flowers alone.


Ranunculus auricomus is native to northern Europe and western Asia, approximately from latitudes 43 to 71 degrees and from western Ireland to the Ural Mountains. In Britain it is generally a lowland species but has been recorded at 1,090 metres (3,580 ft) on Aonach Beag. It is common in England and southern Scotland but becomes increasingly uncommon in the north and west,  so much so that, for example, it is named in the description of the Nature Reserve of Coed Garnllwyd in the Vale of Glamorgan.


Ranunculus auricomus is a perennial herb which is characteristic of deciduous woodland growing over base rich soils such as those underlain by chalk or limestone. In addition it has been recorded growing among scrub, along roadsides and in churchyards, and infrequently on open moorland in locations which are sheltered by boulders and on sheltered mountain ledges. Flowering starts in April and peaks at the end of May and start of June, although these flowers attract pollinating insects the plant is incapable of being pollinated and reproduces by apomixis, the seeds developing from unfertilised ova.


Ranunculus auricomus is a species aggregation in which several hundred agamospecies, that is species which lack gametes, have been found with possibly a hundred or so in Britain alone.


Ranunculus bulbosus, commonly known as bulbous buttercup or St. Anthony's turnip, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae.  It has bright yellow flowers, and deeply divided, three-lobed long-petioled basal leaves.


The stems are 20–40 cm tall, erect, branching, and slightly hairy, with a swollen corm-like base.  There are alternate and sessile leaves on the stem.  The flower forms at the apex of the stems, with 5–7 petals, the sepals strongly reflexed. The flowers are glossy yellow and 1.5–3 cm wide.  The plant blooms from April to July.


The native range of Ranunculus bulbosus is Western Europe between about 60°N and the Northern Mediterranean coast. It grows in both the eastern and western parts of North America as an introduced weed.
Bulbous buttercup grows in lawns, pastures and fields in general, preferring nutrient-poor, well-drained soils.  Although it doesn't generally grow in proper crops or improved grassland, it is  often found in hay fields and in coastal grassland.


The bulbous buttercup gets its name from its distinctive perennating organ, a bulb-like swollen underground stem or corm, which is situated just below the soil surface.  After the plant dies in heat of summer, the corm survives underground through the winter.
Although the presence of a corm distinguishes Ranunculus bulbosus from some other species of buttercup such as Ranunculus acris, the species also has distinctive reflexed sepals.
Other names for the bulbous buttercup are "Goldcup" because of the colour and shape of the leaves, and "Frogs-foot" from their form.


This plant, like other buttercups, contains the toxic glycoside ranunculin. It is avoided by livestock when fresh, but when the plant dries the toxin is lost, so hay containing the plant is safe for animal consumption.


Ranunculus californicus, commonly known as the California buttercup, is a flowering plant of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is a native of California, where it is common in many habitats, including chaparral and woodlands.
Its distribution extends across many habitats of California, north into Oregon and south into Baja California. Its reported locations include the islands between British Columbia and Washington, the Channel Islands of California, and the Sierra Nevada.


Ranunculus californicus grows up to 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) in height. The bright yellow flower is roughly 1–2 centimetres (0.033–0.066 ft) in diameter and has 7 to 22 shiny, teardrop-shaped petals. Each flower grows on a long, green, leafless stem.
Varieties
Ranunculus californicus var. californicus
Ranunculus californicus var. cuneatus


Ranunculus californicus is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use in native plant gardens.


Ranunculus fascicularis, commonly called early buttercup, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It is native to the eastern North America, where it is found in Canada and the United States. It is generally widespread in eastern North America, although its populations become sporadic in areas east of the Appalachian Mountains and south of New England. Its natural habitat is in dry areas with sparse vegetation, such as rocky or sandy bluffs, prairies, and savannas.
Ranunculus fascicularis is a perennial. It produces yellow flowers in early spring. It can be difficult to distinguished from the similar looking Ranunculus hispidus, which occupies much of the same range. In general, Ranunculus fascicularis has an earlier bloom time than Ranunculus hispidus, and is more typically found in drier habitats. Ranunculus fascicularis can be distinguished morphologically by its pinnately dissected leaves that are longer than wide in outline (as opposed to palmately dissected leaves that are roughly as wide as long), and by the presence of tuberous roots.


Ranunculus flammula, the lesser spearwort, greater creeping spearwort or banewort, is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the genus Ranunculus (buttercup), growing in damp places throughout the Boreal Kingdom. It flowers June/July. Ranunculus flammula is poisonous.
It is very closely related to R. reptans,  which is distinguished by prostrate and more slender stems, narrower leaves and smaller flowers and is sometimes included within R. flammula sensu lato as a variety (R. flammula var. reptans (L.) E. Meyer).
In addition to other forms of pollination, this plant is adapted to rain-pollination.


Ranunculus glaberrimus, the sagebrush buttercup, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to interior western North America, in western Canada, the western United States, and the northwestern Great Plains.


Ranunculus glaberrimus is found from central British Columbia east to southern Saskatchewan, south through the Dakotas to Kansas, through the Rocky Mountains southeast to northern New Mexico, west to the Great Basin region, and southwest to northeastern California.
It occurs in habitat types with junipers (Juniperus occidentalis), sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), in damp ground. It flowers relatively early.


Ranunculus glaberrimus is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 4–15 centimetres (1+1⁄2–6 in) tall. The roots are clustered and fleshy. The somewhat thick basal leaves are oval, with long petioles, ranging from entire to having three deep lobes. Cauline leaves have short petioles but are otherwise similar. The flowers have four to ten yellow petals (usually five) about 1 cm long. The sepals are yellow-purple, and the stamens and pistils are numerous.
The species is reportedly toxic to livestock and possibly to humans as well.


Ranunculus muricatus is a species of buttercup known by the common names rough-fruited buttercup and spinyfruit buttercup. It is native to Europe, but it can be found in many other places in the world, including parts of Africa, Australia, and the western and eastern United States, as an introduced species and agricultural and roadside weed. It grows in wet habitats, such as irrigation ditches. It is an annual or sometimes biennial herb producing a mostly hairless stem up to half a meter long which may grow erect or decumbent along the ground. The leaves have blades a few centimetres in length which are deeply divided into three lobes or split into three leaflets. They are hairless to hairy in texture, and are borne at the tips of long petioles. The flower has five shiny yellow petals under 1 centimetre (0.4 in) long around a lobed central receptacle studded with many stamens and pistils. The fruit is a spiny achene borne in a spherical cluster of 10 to 20.


Ranunculus occidentalis, the western buttercup, is a species of buttercup found in the western regions of North America. Its distribution extends from Alaska through British Columbia and Alberta to central California. The flower can be seen in open meadows, forests, and other generally flat areas up to an elevation of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft).
Aleut first nations may have used juice from the plant as a poison, its toxicity arising from the substance protoanemonin. Shasta first nations coincided blooming Ranunculus occidentalis with salmon runs in the summer. The seeds were used to make pinole, a staple food.
This plant is similar to, and sometimes difficult to distinguish from, the California buttercup (Ranunculus californicus).


Ranunculus sceleratus known by the common names celery-leaved buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, and cursed buttercup is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, native to temperate and boreal North America and Eurasia, where it grows in wet and moist habitats, including ponds and streambanks.


Ranunculus sceleratus is an annual herb growing up to half a meter tall. The leaves are more or less glabrous (hairless) and have small blades each deeply lobed or divided into three leaflets. They are borne on long petioles. The flowers are 5-10mm across with five or fewer yellow petals a few millimeters long and reflexed sepals. The fruit is an achene borne in a cluster of several.
While buttercups are toxic due to the presence of the substance protoanemonin, this applies in particular for the cursed buttercup: it is the most toxic buttercup and contains 2.5% protoanemonin. When the leaves are wrinkled, damaged or crushed, they bring out unsightly sores and blisters on human skin.


Ranunculus sceleratus has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere There are two varieties and one subspecies with distinctive distributions: R. sceleratus ssp. reptabundus occurs in northern Finland and north-west Russia. R. scleratus var. multifidus occurs in north western North America. and R. scleratus var. longissimus is found from Minnesota to Alabama according to their biodiversity and plant atlases respectively.


Raphanus raphanistrum, also known as wild radish, white charlock or jointed charlock, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.  One of its subspecies, Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus, includes a diverse variety of cultivated radishes. The species is native to western Asia, Europe and parts of Northern Africa. It has been introduced into most parts of the world and is regarded as a habitat threatening invasive species in many areas, for example, Australia. It spreads rapidly and is often found growing on roadsides or in other places where the ground has been disturbed.


Wild radish grows as an annual or biennial plant, with a single taproot which is similar to that of the cultivated radish but less enlarged. It has basal leaves that are oblong-elliptic to spatula-shaped, the stem leaves are shorter and lobed. It has hairy stems and can grow to between 20 and 60 centimetres (8 and 23+1⁄2 inches) tall. It blooms between May and September, in the UK, or between June and August, in the US. The flowers very similar to those of the searocket, which is found in some of the same regions (in the US) and is easily distinguished from it by having thinner, non-succulent stems and leaves.
The stems have wide spaced, four-petalled flowers 30–40 mm (1+1⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) across and varying in colour, usually from white to purple but sometimes light orange to yellow, often with colour shading within a single petal. Later, on a short stalk, it produces a podded seed capsule. Up to 8 round jointed pods, each containing one round or oval seed.


It was formally described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in his seminal publication 'Species Plantarum' on page 669 in 1753.
The genome of wild radish is estimated to be ~515 Mb in size, whereas that of the edible variety is suggested to be ~539–574 Mb. Several Raphanus raphanistrum genomes have been sequenced, with one study reporting 98% coverage of the gene space. Researchers found evidence that the past whole-genome triplication that occurred before the divergence of Raphanus and Brassica has been followed by widespread gene loss in radish, resulting in the loss of ~38,000 genes from the wild radish genome.
Raphanus raphanistrum has several known subspecies including:
Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. landra (Moretti ex DC.) Bonnier & Layens ('sea radish')
Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. rostratus (DC.) Thell.
Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (L.) Domin
It has several common names including jointed charlock, jointed radish, jointed wild radish, white charlock, and wild radish.
It is often erroneously identified as mustard.


It is native to temperate regions of North Africa, Europe and parts of Western Asia.


It is found in North Africa, within Macaronesia, Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Within Western Asia it is found in the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. In eastern Europe, it is found within Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. In middle Europe, it is in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland. In northern Europe, in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. In southeastern Europe, within Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Also in southwestern Europe, it is found in France, Portugal and Spain.


It is frost hardy, and even hard freezes only temporarily interrupt bloom. In Australia, it is regarded as a habitat threatening invasive species in many areas. In Canada, it is a naturalised species and sometimes hybridizes with cultivated radish, R. sativus. It has also proved to be resistant to several herbicides.
In southeastern USA, the pale yellow form is common, sometimes entirely taking over fields in wintertime. It is a significant source of pollen and nectar for a variety of pollinators, especially honey bees during the very early spring starting buildup. Female Andrena agilissima, or mining bees, frequent this plant to obtain pollen and nectar. Other pollinators include cabbage butterflies and a few syrphid fly species.


Raphia frater, the brother moth or simply the brother, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Nova Scotia west, across the forested regions of Canada to British Columbia, south to Mississippi in the east. The southern limits in the west are uncertain due to confusion with several closely related species or forms.
The wingspan is 38–44 mm. Adults are on wing from April or May to August. There is one or two generations per year.
The larvae mainly feed on aspen, but have also been recorded from alder, birch, cottonwood, and willow.


Rapistrum rugosum is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names annual bastardcabbage, common giant mustard or turnipweed. It is native to Eurasia and parts of Africa, and it is present throughout the world as an introduced species and a common weed. It is an invasive species in many areas. It is an annual herb producing an erect stem reaching up to about a meter tall. The leaves are variable in shape and size and the proximal blades are generally cut into lobes or divided into leaflets. The herbage is coated in rough hairs. The inflorescence is a raceme of flowers with dark-veined yellow petals that are each under a centimeter long. The fruit is a knoblike spherical ribbed silique borne on a long pedicel with a widened area where it joins the fruit.


Ratibida columnifera, commonly known as upright prairie coneflower or Mexican hat, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the genus Ratibida family Asteraceae. It grows up to 120 centimetres (47 inches) tall with leaves 2.5–15 cm (1–6 in) long. It is native to much of North America and inhabits prairies, plains, roadsides, and disturbed areas from southern Canada through most of the United States to northern Mexico.
It is similar to R. tagetes, the leaves of which are closer to the flower.


The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. It spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks its crustacean and insect prey.


The American avocet is a bird in the order Charadriiformes, which includes shorebirds, gulls, and alcids. Its family—Recurvirostridae—includes stilts and avocets. The American avocet is one of four avocet species; the Andean avocet, the pied avocet, and the red-necked avocet are the remaining three species in the genus.


The American avocet measures 40–51 cm (16–20 in) in length, has a wingspan of 68–76 cm (27–30 in) and weighs 275–420 g (9.7–14.8 oz) The bill is black, pointed, and curved slightly upwards towards the tip. It is long, surpassing twice the length of the avocet's small, rounded head. Like many waders, the avocet has long, slender legs and slightly webbed feet. The legs are a pastel grey-blue, giving it its colloquial name, blue shanks. The plumage is black and white on the back, with white on the underbelly. During the breeding season, the plumage is brassy orange on the head and neck, continuing somewhat down to the breast. After the breeding season, these bright feathers are swapped out for white and grey ones. The avocet commonly preens its feathers - this is considered to be a comfort movement.


American avocets were previously found across most of the United States until extirpated from the East Coast. The breeding habitat consists of marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west, as far north as southern Canada.  These breeding grounds are largely in areas just east of the rocky mountains including parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Utah, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and even down to parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Their migration route lands them in almost every state in the western United States. The avocet's wintering grounds are mainly coastal. Along the Atlantic Ocean, they are found in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. There are also wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, Texas, and Mexico, and along the Pacific Ocean in California and Mexico. There are resident populations in the Mexican States of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Mexico City and Puebla, and in Central California.


The American avocet call has been described as both a shrill and melodic alarm bweet, which rises in inflection over time. Avocets use three distinct calls: common call, excited call, and broken wing call. The common call is a loud repeated wheep. The excited call has a similar wheep sound, but it speeds up rather than having an even rhythm. Lastly, the broken wing call is noticeably different from the other two calls. It is a distressed screech sound and is alarming rather than melodic.


Flocks ranging from 50 to 300 avocets migrate together to their breeding sites together during peak season, which is typically in the spring. The American avocet breeds in anything from freshwater to hypersaline wetlands in the western and mid-west United States. After reaching their breeding grounds, the avocets quickly establish territory in pairs. Throughout the breeding season, these pairs engage in a series of copulatory displays, which is initiated by either sex and often involves preening. After breeding, the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes amounting to hundreds of birds. Nesting takes place near water, often alongside black-necked stilts, usually on small islands or mucky shorelines. The avocets nest on the ground in places with little to no surrounding vegetation. They make shallow indentations in the ground for their nest and line it with grass, feathers, pebbles or other small objects. Some avocets do not line their nests at all. During the breeding season, avocets lay around 3–5 eggs, with 4 being the most common number. One case study of the 1968 and 1969 breeding seasons suggests that this number allows for the highest rate of hatching success. They incubate them over a period of 23–25 days. Both parents are involved in the incubation process, taking turns during the day (except at night, where only the female incubates the eggs).


Both parents take care of the newborn American avocets after they hatch. Male parents are more present in incubation during the first 8 days, whereas female parents dominate incubation throughout the remaining 16 days. Time spent caring for newborn chicks equates to that spent incubating. Since newborns are able to walk, they are capable of feeding themselves and do not require extensive care from their parents. The young are expected to begin flying 4 to 5 weeks after hatching.


Each pair defends their own territory against predators and other avocets. Nests are built in areas that predators would struggle to gain access to. Predators that do try to approach the colony find themselves surrounded by several adult avocets running around, trying to distract them. While incubating however, the avocets tend only to their nest and defense is considered a lower priority, unless the eggs are in immediate danger, in which case the avocets may take more aggressive measures, calling loudly and flying at the threat.


The American avocet tends to prefer habitats with fine sediments for foraging. In the winter, it feeds extensively on brine shrimp. Usually, this entails the avocet pecking while walking or wading on the shore, but it can also swim to expand foraging area. During the breeding season, avocets continue to eat brine shrimp but switch mainly to consuming brine flies. Brine flies and brine fly larvae are so abundant in avocet breeding grounds that they often blacken the surface of any exposed mud. Brine flies sustain the avocet during its breeding season. The avocet employs both visual and tactile methods of feeding. The primary visual feeding method is pecking at flies. However the avocet will also feed by plunging (wherein the head and neck of the bird are submerged), snatching (wherein the bird catches a flying insect), and bill pursuit (wherein the bird repeatedly opens and closes its bill while moving its head along the surface of the water). Methods of tactile feeding include filtering, scraping, and scythe feeding.


Shooting and trapping of American avocets led to population decline until the 1900s. During this time, the species was extirpated from most of the East Coast of the United States. By 1918, Avocets became protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712). Since that time, other threats have emerged. Contaminants and toxins such as DDT, selenium, and methylmercury, have increased in American Avocet habitats in recent years. Although the effects are highly contested, these increased concentrations have potential negative effects on American avocet breeding success, especially because Avocet chicks are more susceptible to environmental disruptions than adults. The avocet also faces habitat loss. While agricultural and industrial environments have become alternate habitat for the avocet, natural wetlands are decreasing rapidly. Additionally, increases in the salinity levels of wetlands have had adverse effects on the breeding and development of avocets. Young avocets in saline or hypersaline environments often combat weight loss and dehydration. Although American avocets face numerous environmental challenges, numbers have stayed steady, and according to the National Audubon Society, numbers have been increasing steadily in the eastern United States for the past few years.


The American avocet is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.


The pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. The pied avocet is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


The pied avocet was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Recurvirostra avosetta. This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian word avosetta. It appeared first in Ulisse Aldrovandi's Ornithologia (1603). While the name may refer to black and white outfits once worn by European advocates or lawyers, the actual etymology is uncertain. Other common names include black-capped avocet, Eurasian avocet or just avocet.
It is one of four species of avocet that make up the genus Recurvirostra. The genus name is from Latin recurvus, "curved backwards" and rostrum, "bill". A 2004 study combining genetics and morphology showed that it was the most divergent species in the genus.


The pied avocet is a striking white wader with bold black markings. Adults have white plumage except for a black cap and black patches in the wings and on the back. They have long, upturned bills and long, bluish legs. It is approximately 16.5–17.75 in (41.9–45.1 cm) in length of which the bill is approximately 2.95–3.35 in (7.5–8.5 cm) and the legs are approximately 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm). Its wingspan is approximately 30–31.5 in (76–80 cm). Males and females look alike. The juvenile resembles the adult but with more greyish and sepia tones.
The call of the avocet is a far-carrying, liquid, melodious kluit kluit.


These birds forage in shallow brackish water or on mud flats, often scything their bills from side to side in water (a feeding technique that is unique to the avocets). They mainly eat crustaceans and insects.
Their breeding habitat is shallow lakes with brackish water and exposed bare mud. They nest on open ground, often in small groups, sometimes with other waders. Three to five eggs are laid in a lined scrape or on a mound of vegetation.


The pied avocet was extirpated as a breeding species in Great Britain by 1840. Its successful recolonisation at Minsmere, Suffolk, in 1947 led to its adoption as the logo of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The pied avocet has spread inland and northwards and westwards in Britain since then and it has bred in Wales and in Scotland in 2018 at Skinflats. Avocets have been sighted wintering at Browhouses, Dumfries and Galloway.


The goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, R. regulus, means king or knight. Several subspecies are recognised across the very large distribution range that includes much of the Palearctic and the islands of Macaronesia and Iceland. Birds from the north and east of its breeding range migrate to winter further south.
This kinglet has greenish upper-parts, whitish under-parts, and has two white wingbars. It has a plain face contrasting black irises and a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding. It superficially resembles the common firecrest, which largely shares its European range, but the latter's bronze shoulders and strong face pattern are distinctive. The song is a repetition of high thin notes, slightly higher-pitched than those of its relative. Birds on the Canary Islands are now separated into two subspecies of the goldcrest, but were formerly considered to be a subspecies of the firecrest or a separate species, Regulus teneriffae.
The goldcrest breeds in coniferous woodland and gardens, building its compact, three-layered nest on a tree branch. Ten to twelve eggs are incubated by the female alone, and the chicks are fed by both parents; second broods are common. This kinglet is constantly on the move as it searches for insects to eat, and in winter it is often found with flocks of tits. It may be killed by birds of prey or carry parasites, but its large range and population mean that it is not considered to present any significant conservation concerns.


The goldcrest is the smallest European bird, 8.5–9.5 cm (3.3–3.7 in) in length, with a 13.5–15.5 cm (5.3–6.1 in) wingspan and a weight of 4.5–7.0 g (0.16–0.25 oz). It is similar in appearance to a warbler, with olive-green upper-parts, buff-white underparts, two white wing bars, and a plain face with conspicuous black irises. The crown of the head has black sides and a narrow black front, and a bright crest, yellow with an orange centre in the male, and entirely yellow in the female; the crest is erected in display, making the distinctive orange stripe of the male much more conspicuous. The small, thin bill is black, and the legs are dark flesh-brown.
Apart from the crest colour, the sexes are alike, although in fresh plumage, the female may have very slightly paler upper-parts and greyer underparts than the adult male. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but has duller upper-parts and lacks the coloured crown. Although the tail and flight feathers may be retained into the first winter, by then the young birds are almost indistinguishable from adults in the field. The flight is distinctive; it consists of whirring wing-beats with occasional sudden changes of direction. Shorter flights while feeding are a mix of dashing and fluttering with frequent hovering. It moves restlessly among foliage, regularly creeping on branches and up and down trunks.


The goldcrest is usually easily distinguished from other small birds in its range, but poor views could possibly lead to confusion with the common firecrest or yellow-browed warbler. The adult common firecrest has a distinguishing face pattern showing a bright white supercilium (eyebrow) and black eye-stripe, and the juvenile usually shows enough of this face pattern to be readily distinguished from the plain-faced goldcrest. The yellow-browed warbler has a yellowish supercilium and pale crown stripe, so also shows a different head pattern.
The ruby-crowned kinglet, an American Regulus species and a potential vagrant in Europe, could be more difficult to distinguish. It has a plain face like its Old World cousin, but the male has a red crest without any yellow or a black border. Female and juvenile ruby-crowned kinglets lack the ruby-red crown patch, but compared with the similarly crestless juvenile goldcrest, the American bird is larger in size, has an obvious whitish eyering, and yellowish wing bars.


The typical contact call of the goldcrest is a thin, high-pitched zee given at intervals of 1–4 seconds, with all the notes at the same pitch. It sometimes has a more clipped ending, or is delivered more rapidly. The call is higher and less rough than that of the firecrest. The song of the male goldcrest is a very high, thin double note cedar, repeated 5–7 times and ending in a flourish, cedarcedar-cedar-cedar-cedar-stichi-see-pee. The entire song lasts 3–4 seconds and is repeated 5–7 times a minute. This song, often uttered while the male is foraging, can be heard in most months of the year. There is also a subdued rambling subsong. Male goldcrests sometimes show a territorial response to recordings of the songs or calls of the common firecrest, but the reverse is apparently not true, since the songs of the common firecrest are simpler in construction than those of its relatives.
The songs of mainland goldcrests vary only slightly across their range and consist of a single song type, but much more divergence has occurred in the isolated Macaronesian populations. Not only are there variations between islands and within an island, but individual males on the Azores can have up to three song types. The dialects on the Azores fall into two main groups, neither of which elicited a response from male European goldcrests in playback experiments. There are also two main dialect groups on the Canary islands, a widespread group similar to the European version, and another that is restricted to the mountains of Tenerife. The song variations have been used to investigate the colonisation pattern of the Macaronesian islands by goldcrests, and identified a previously unknown subspecies.


The kinglets are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblers, but frequently given family status, especially as recent research shows that despite superficial similarities, they are phylogenetically remote from the warblers. The names of the family, Regulidae, and its only genus, Regulus, are derived from the Latin regulus, a diminutive of rex, a king. The goldcrest was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Motacilla regulus (characterised as [Motacilla] remigibus secundariis exteriori margine flavis, medio albis). It was moved to the warbler genus Sylvia by English naturalist John Latham in 1790, and to its current genus by French zoologist Georges Cuvier in 1800.
The relationships of the flamecrest or Taiwan firecrest (Regulus goodfellowi) of Taiwan have also been a source of much debate. It is sometimes viewed as a race of firecrest, but its territorial song resembles those of the Himalayan races of goldcrest, and genetic data show that it is the closest relative of that species, and, despite its alternative name, only distantly related to the firecrest. The flamecrest diverged from the goldcrest 3.0–3.1 mya (million years ago).


Several subspecies of the goldcrest have been described. In continental Eurasia, there are nine generally accepted and very similar subspecies, differing only in details such as plumage shade. At the genetic level, the two Central Asian forms, R. r. sikkimensis and R. r. himalayensis, are very close to each other, and have differentiated only in the recent past, but they diverged from the western subspecies around 2.8 mya.
R. r. regulus (Linnaeus, 1758). Breeds in most of Europe; this is the nominate subspecies.
R. r. himalayensis (Bonaparte, 1856). Breeds in the Himalayas; it is similar to the nominate subspecies, but slightly paler above and with whiter underparts.
R. r. japonensis (Blakiston, 1862). Breeds in Eastern Asia, including Japan, Korea, China and Siberia; it is greener and has darker upper-parts than the nominate form, and has broad white wingbars.
R. r. tristis (Pleske, 1892). Breeds in China and Central Asia, wintering in northeastern Afghanistan. Records of this race from Ladakh claimed by Meinertzhagen are considered to be fraudulent. It is distinctive, with the black edges to the crest largely absent. The crown of the male is yellower than in other forms, and the underparts are much duller and greyer.
R. r. coatsi (Sushkin, 1904). Breeds in Russia and Central Asia, and is paler above than the nominate subspecies.
R. r. yunnanensis (Rippon, 1906). Breeds in the Eastern Himalayas, Burma and China; it is like R. r. sikkimensis, but darker overall with dark green upper-parts and darker buff underparts.
R. r. hyrcanus (Zarudny, 1910). Breeds only in Iran; it is like R. r. buturlini, but slightly darker.
R. r. buturlini (Loudon, 1911). Breeds in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is paler above than the nominate subspecies, and greyish-green rather than olive.
R. r. sikkimensis (Meinertzhagen R. & Meinertzhagen A., 1926). Breeds in India and China. It is darker than R. r. himalayensis, and greener than the nominate subspecies.


Two groups of goldcrest taxa are found on the Atlantic islands of Macaronesia. Birds on the Canary Islands are ancient colonists, whereas those on The Azores are of more recent origin. There are no goldcrests on Madeira, where the Madeira firecrest is the only Regulus species.
The Canary Islands were colonised in two waves. The first step was the occupation of Tenerife and La Gomera 1.9–2.3 million years ago, followed by a separate invasion of El Hierro and La Palma 1.3–1.8 mya.

Birds from the Canary Islands are particularly distinctive having a black forehead, pink-buff underparts and a darker closed wing, and have been sometimes treated either as a subspecies of the common firecrest or as a different Regulus species altogether. They were sometimes called the Tenerife goldcrest, no matter which of the islands they lived on; however, a 2006 study of the vocalisations of these birds indicate that they actually comprise two subspecies of the goldcrest that are separable on voice; R. r. teneriffae occurring on Tenerife and the newly described subspecies, R. r. ellenthalerae, the western Canary Islands goldcrest, occurring on the smaller islands of La Palma and El Hierro.
Tenerife goldcrest R. r. teneriffae (Seebohm, 1883). Found on Tenerife and La Gomera, Canary Islands; it is a distinctive, small subspecies with a black forehead and pink-buff underparts.
Western Canary Islands goldcrest R. r. ellenthalerae (Päckert et al., 2006). Resident on La Palma and El Hierro, Canary Islands.
Differences in songs, genetics and morphology suggests that the Azores were colonised in a single invasion in the late Pleistocene, about 100,000 years ago. It is likely that the initial colonisation was of the easternmost islands, with a subsequent spread to the central and western island groups from the western caldera of São Miguel, where both eastern and western song types are found.
Sao Miguel Goldcrest R. r. azoricus (Seebohm, 1883). Found only on São Miguel, Azores; it is like R. r. inermis, except the underparts are more olive-buff.
Western Azores goldcrest R. r. inermis (Murphy & Chapin, 1929). Resident on Flores, Faial, Terceira, São Jorge and Pico, Azores; its upper-parts are a darker olive-green than those of the nominate form, and the underparts are also darker.
Santa Maria goldcrest R. r. sanctaemariae (Vaurie, 1954). Found only on Santa Maria Island (Azores); it is paler than other Azores subspecies and whitish below.


There are a few Pleistocene (2.6 million to 12,000 years BP) records from Europe of extant Regulus species, mostly goldcrests or unidentifiable to species. The only fossil of an extinct Regulus is a left ulna from 2.6–1.95 mya in Bulgaria, which was identified as belonging to an extinct species, Regulus bulgaricus. The goldcrest lineage diverged from this apparent ancestor of the common firecrest in the Middle Pleistocene.


The goldcrest breeds in mature lowland and mountain coniferous woodlands, mainly up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft), and occasionally to 4,800 m (15,700 ft). It uses spruce, larch, Scots pine, silver fir and mountain pine, and in man-made landscapes also introduced conifers such as douglas fir. Breeding densities of up to 591 pairs per square km (1,530 pairs per square mile) have been recorded in Norway spruce in Ireland, and goldcrests constituted over 60% of all birds found in Welsh Douglas fir and Norway spruce plantations. Broad-leaved woods are used only when some spruce or firs are also present. Sites such as parks and cemeteries are used only when they offer suitable conifers that are not otherwise locally available. The height and nature of any undergrowth is irrelevant.
Unlike more specialised birds such as the Eurasian nuthatch and the Eurasian treecreeper, both of which forage on tree trunks, the kinglets do not need large woodlands, and their population density is independent of forest size. Once breeding is over, this species will readily move into deciduous trees and shrubs, heathland and similar more open habitats.
The Tenerife subspecies occurs in the mountain region previously occupied by laurisilva, but now dominated by tree heaths. It is common only in that habitat, becoming rare in pine forest, where it occurs only where tree-heath is also available.
The goldcrest has a huge range in Eurasia, breeding from Macaronesia to Japan. It is common in middle and northern temperate and boreal latitudes of Europe, between the 13–24 °C (55–75 °F) July isotherms, and thus predominantly in cooler climates than the firecrest. Further east it occurs discontinuously through southern Siberia to Sakhalin and Japan, in the Tian Shan mountains, northern Iran, and from the Himalayas east to central China.
This species has bred in Iceland since about 1999, and was widespread by 2004, although numbers are affected by hard winters. Breeding occurs intermittently in the Faroes. The goldcrest has occurred as a vagrant in Jordan and Morocco.
This species is partly migratory, northernmost populations deserting their breeding areas in winter. Birds winter in Europe and Asia south of the breeding range. Birds in northern Fennoscandia and Russia vacate their territories between late August and early November, with most leaving in late September to mid-October as the first cold weather arrives. Adverse conditions may lead to disorientation, large numbers gathering on ships on overcast or wet nights. Large influxes include 15,000 birds on the Isle of May in October 1982, and nearly 21,000 birds through a single site in Latvia during September and October 1983. Spring migration is complete by late March on the Mediterranean islands, but continues to late April or early May in northern Europe. The spring passage is much lighter than in autumn, suggesting high mortality on migration.
A study in the Baltic region showed that northern goldcrests were more likely to migrate, and increased their body mass beforehand; non-migratory southern birds did not increase their fat reserves. The travel speed of migrating goldcrests increased for those leaving later in the autumn, and was greater for the northernmost populations. Migration was faster on routes that crossed the Baltic Sea than on coastal routes, and the birds with the largest fat reserves travelled at the highest speeds. The ability to lay down fat is adversely affected in this tiny bird by poor health. In Hungary, goldcrests stopping temporarily on migration were mostly found in scrub, including blackthorn, hawthorn and pear, which provided some protection from sparrowhawks. Females migrated slightly earlier than males, but overall there were more males, with an average sex ratio of 1.6:1. Goldcrests can fly 250–800 km (160–500 mi) in one day, although they keep at a lower level in heavy headwinds. This is a tame and inquisitive bird, and tired migrants will land near or on humans, sometimes searching for food on their clothing.
The North Atlantic oscillation is an atmospheric phenomenon affecting the weather in Western Europe. When the atmospheric pressure variations in the North Atlantic are large, the springs in Europe are warmer. This brings forward the northward migration of those bird species (including the goldcrest) that winter mainly within western or southern Europe. A general climatic change resulting in more frequent positive North Atlantic oscillation events has led to earlier spring migration of these short-distance migrants since the 1980s. The warmer spring weather brings on plant growth, thus preparing the habitat for returning migrants. The effect is greatest in western and central Europe.


The goldcrest is monogamous. The male sings during the breeding season, usually while foraging rather than from a perch. It has a display involving bowing its head towards another bird and raising the coloured crest. Firecrests will sometimes defend their territories against goldcrests, but the amount of actual competition between the species may not be very great. A Spanish study suggested that territorial conflicts between species, and other phenomena like males singing mixed or alternating songs, were most frequent when one species locally far outnumbered the other; in other circumstances, the two species learned to ignore each other's songs. However, in very small areas of conifers it is rare for the goldcrest and the firecrest to share territories; either one or the other is present, but not both. A male goldcrest will defend his territory against either species, sometimes including some firecrest phrases in his song.
The goldcrest's nest is a well-insulated cup-shaped structure built in three layers. The nest's outer layer is made from moss, small twigs, cobwebs and lichen, the cobwebs also being used to attach the nest to the thin branches that support it. The middle layer is moss, which is lined by an inner layer of feathers and hair. The nest is larger, shallower and less compact than that of the firecrest, with an internal diameter of about 9.0 cm (3.5 in), and is constructed by both sexes, although the female does most of the work. It is often suspended from a hanging branch, usually at no great height, although Eric Simms reported nests at heights from 1.0–22 m (3.3–72.2 ft). One pair built their nest just 1.0 m (3.3 ft) above that of a sparrowhawk.
Laying starts at the end of April into early May. The eggs are whitish with very indistinct buff, grey or brown markings at the broad end. The eggs are 14 mm × 10 mm (0.55 in × 0.39 in) and weigh 0.8 g (0.028 oz), of which 5% is shell. The clutch size in Europe is typically 9–11 eggs, but ranges from 6–13. The eggs are piled up in the nest and the female keeps the eggs warm with her brood patch and also by putting her warm legs into the middle of the pile between the eggs. Within a clutch the size of eggs increases gradually and the last laid egg may be 20% larger than the first egg. Second clutches, which are common, are laid usually while the first nest still has young. The male builds the second nest, then feeds the young in the first nest while the female is incubating in the second; when the first brood has fledged, he joins the female in feeding the second brood. The female goldcrest is not normally fed by her mate while incubating. She is a tight sitter, reluctant to leave the nest when disturbed, and has been recorded as continuing to attend the nest when it has been moved, or even when it is being held.
The eggs are maintained at 36.5 °C (97.7 °F), the female regulating the temperature of the eggs by varying the time spent sitting. She leaves the nest more with increasing air temperature, and incubates more tightly when the light intensity is lower early and late in the day. The female incubates the eggs for 16 to 19 days to hatching, and broods the chicks, which fledge in a further 17 to 22 days later. Both parents feed the chicks and fledged young, and in very hot weather, the female has been noted as taking drops of water to her chicks in her bill. This species becomes sexually mature after one year, and has an annual adult mortality of over 80 percent giving a life expectancy of around eight months, which is the shortest for any bird apart from a few Coturnix species. There are nonetheless records of an individual surviving to 4 years 10 months, and even a report of a bird ringed in Winchester in the UK in 1989 and found dead in Morocco 7 years and 7 months later.
Although their ranges overlap substantially, hybridisation between goldcrests and firecrests seems to be prevented by differences in courtship rituals and different facial patterns. Even in aviary studies in which a female goldcrest was given an artificial eyestripe to facilitate mating with a male firecrest, the chicks were never raised by the mixed pair, and appeared to be poorly adapted compared to the parent species.


All Regulus species are almost exclusively insectivorous, preying on small arthropods with soft cuticles, such as springtails, aphids and spiders. They also feed on the cocoons and eggs of spiders and insects, and occasionally take pollen. All species will catch flying insects while hovering. Although the similarly sized goldcrest and firecrest are often found together, there are a number of factors that minimise direct competition for food. Goldcrests prefer smaller prey than common firecrests. Although both will take trapped insects from spider webs on autumn migration, firecrests will also eat the large orb-web spiders (on rare occasions kinglets have been found stuck in a spider web, either unable to move or dead).
The goldcrest takes a wide variety of prey, especially spiders, caterpillars, bugs, springtails and flies. Larger prey such as oak bush crickets and tortrix moths may sometimes be taken. Flying insects are taken in hovering flight but not normally pursued; there is a record of a goldcrest attacking a large dragonfly in flight, only to be dragged along by the insect before releasing it unharmed. Goldcrests will occasionally feed on the ground among leaf-litter with tits. Non-animal food is rare, although goldcrests have been seen drinking sap from broken birch twigs together with tits and nuthatches.
The goldcrest feeds in trees, frequently foraging on the undersides of branches and leaves. This is in contrast to the common firecrest, which mainly exploits the upper surface of branches in coniferous habitat and of leaves in deciduous trees. In winter, flocks of goldcrests cover a given distance at only one-third of the speed of common firecrests, taking the smallest prey items ignored by their relative. The differences in behaviour are facilitated by subtle morphological differences; firecrests have broader bills with longer rictal bristles (which protect a bird's eye from food items it is trying to capture), and these features reflect the larger prey taken by the species. The firecrest's less forked tail may reflect its longer episodes of hovering while hunting. Firecrests forage more often while on foot, and have a foot better adapted for perching, whereas the goldcrest's longer hind toe reflects its habit of moving vertically along branches while feeding. It also has deep furrows in the soles of its feet capable of gripping individual needles, while firecrests have a smoother surface.
The goldcrest has much the same range and habitat preference as the common chiffchaff, and there is some evidence that high breeding densities of the kinglet depress the population of the warbler, although the converse is not true. There is no evidence that the species compete for territories, and in any case the chiffchaff is 50% heavier than the goldcrest. Nevertheless, there are 1.5 million breeding pairs of goldcrests in Finland, compared with 0.4 million breeding pairs of chiffchaffs, and only the kinglet has increased in numbers as the area of spruce woodland in the country has expanded. The goldcrest may be out-competing the warbler for food, especially as the larger bird faces more competition from other insectivores, including other Phylloscopus warblers. Both birds occur in similar forests, but the chiffchaff is found within 100 m (330 ft) of the forest edge, with the goldcrest breeding deeper in the woodland. Nevertheless, there is no conclusive evidence that the decline of the chiffchaff subspecies Phylloscopus collybita abietinus in parts of Finland is due to competition with the willow warbler and goldcrest.
Outside the breeding season, small groups of goldcrests maintain exclusive winter feeding territories, which they defend against neighbouring groups. As they roam around their territory, they frequently join loose flocks of other wanderers such as tits and warblers. This kinglet, like other species that prefer mixed-species foraging flocks in winter, hunts over a greater range of heights and vegetation types than when feeding alone. For species that tend to feed in flocks, foraging success while in a flock was about twice that for solitary birds. A consequence of feeding in a flock is that foraging sites may be restricted to avoid competition with other species. In a Swedish study, coal tits and goldcrests foraged in the outer foliage, while the larger willow and European crested tits used the inner canopy. In sites where the numbers of willow and crested tits was artificially reduced, goldcrests and coal tits extended their foraging to include the inner canopy, but did not do so where the larger tits were retained. In some areas, wintering birds have developed the habit of coming to feeding stations and bird tables to take fat, sometimes with warblers such as the common chiffchaff and blackcap.


Several small passerine species survive freezing winter nights by inducing a lower metabolic rate and hypothermia, of a maximum of 10 °C (18 °F) below normal body temperature, in order to reduce energy consumption overnight. However, in freezing conditions, it may be that for very small birds, including the tiny goldcrest, the energy economies of induced hypothermia may be insufficient to counterbalance the negative effects of hypothermia including the energy required to raise body temperature back to normal at dawn. Observations of five well-fed birds suggest that they maintain normal body temperatures during cold nights by metabolising fat laid down during the day, and that they actually use behavioural thermoregulation strategies, such as collective roosting in dense foliage or snow holes to survive winter nights. Two birds roosting together reduce their heat loss by a quarter, and three birds by a third. During an 18‑hour winter night, with temperatures as low as −25 °C (−13 °F) in the north of its range, goldcrests huddled together can each burn off fat equivalent to 20% of body weight to keep warm.
Migrating birds rely largely on stored fat and they also metabolise protein as a supplementary source of energy. Those with a relatively large amount of fat, may make stops during migration of only 1–2 days; although they have lost weight since commencing their journey, they have enough energy reserves to reach the wintering areas. The proportion of migrating males increases as they travel south through Europe. There is competition within the species even during migration, and the larger and more aggressive males may get more food. Their death rate is therefore lower than that of the females both on the southward migration, and in resident populations.


Throughout the goldcrest's range, the main predator of small woodland birds is the Eurasian sparrowhawk, which has a diet consisting of up to 98% of birds. Merlins, tawny and long-eared owls also hunt goldcrests. The erratic movements and flights of small woodland birds, which are vulnerable to attack while away from cover, may help to confuse their predators. The goldcrest has only very rarely been recorded as a host of the common cuckoo, a widespread European brood parasite.
The goldcrest is a host of the widespread moorhen flea, Dasypsyllus gallinulae, and of the louse Philopterus reguli. The amblycerous mite Ricinus frenatus has been found on the eastern goldcrest subspecies, R. r. japonensis in Japan, and at the other end of the range in birds of the nominate subspecies on the Faroes and in Spain. These lice move over the host's body, and have strong mouthparts that pierce the host's skin so that they can feed on blood, and sometimes feather material. A number of feather mites have been recorded in the genus Regulus; these mites live on fungi growing on the feathers. The fungi found on the plumage may feed on the keratin of the outer feathers or on feather oil.


The goldcrest has a large range, estimated at 13.2 million km² (5.1 million mi²) and a total population estimated at 80–200 million individuals, and it is therefore classed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. There was some northward range expansion in Scotland, Belgium, Norway, and Finland during the 20th century, assisted by the spread of conifer plantations. The population is currently stable, although there may be temporary marked declines in harsh winters.
Although dense conifer growth can provide shelter for roosting at night, losses in hard winters can be heavy. In a Finnish study, only one-tenth of the wintering goldcrest population, which mainly fed on spiders, survived to spring. Each group roamed within a defined winter territory, and their winter survival depended on the density of the food supply. For these northern birds there is a trade off between staying put and risking starvation, or facing the perils of migration. Even in somewhat milder regions, where over-wintering is normal, exceptionally cold winters can cause such heavy losses that breeding populations take several years to recover. In 1930, the English ornithologist Thomas Coward wrote:
Until the severe winter of 1916–17 the Goldcrest was abundant and widespread, nesting in all the wooded portions of our islands; in 1920 it could have little more than an obituary notice, for the nesting stock was practically "wiped out." ... and for some years, even as a winter visitor, the Goldcrest remained rare, absent from most of its nesting haunts. It is, however, now fully re-established.
Conversely, populations can expand rapidly after a series of mild winters. In lowland Britain, there was an increase of 48% following the 1970/71 winter, with many pairs spreading into deciduous woodlands where they would not normally breed.


Aristotle (384–322 BC) and Pliny (23–79 AD) both wrote about the legend of a contest among the birds to see who should be their king, the title to be awarded to the one that could fly highest. Initially, it looked as though the eagle would win easily, but as he began to tire, a small bird that had hidden under the eagle's tail feathers emerged to fly even higher and claimed the title. Following from this legend, in much European folklore the wren has been described as the "king of the birds" or as a flame bearer. However, these terms were also applied to the Regulus species, the fiery crowns of the goldcrest and firecrest making them more likely to be the original bearers of these titles, and, because of the legend's reference to the "smallest of birds" becoming king, the title was probably transferred to the equally tiny wren. The confusion was probably compounded by the similarity and consequent interchangeability of the Greek words for the wren (βασιλεύς basileus, "king") and the crests (βασιλισκος basiliskos, "kinglet"). In English, the association between the goldcrest and Eurasian wren may have been reinforced by the kinglet's old name of "gold-crested wren".
It has had little other impact on literature, although it is the subject of Charles Tennyson Turner's short poem, "The Gold-crested Wren", first published in 1868. An old English name for the goldcrest is the "woodcock pilot", since migrating birds preceded the arrival of Eurasian woodcocks by a couple of days. There are unfounded legends that the goldcrest would hitch a ride in the feathers of the larger bird, and similar stories claimed that owls provided the transport. Suffolk fishermen called this bird "herring spink" or "tot o'er seas" because migrating goldcrests often landed on the rigging of herring boats out in the North Sea.


The golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa) is a very small songbird in the family Regulidae that lives throughout much of North America.


Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black. The adult male has an orange patch in the middle of the yellow crown. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with a browner back and without the yellow crown. This is one of the smallest passerines in North America. Its length, at 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in), is probably the shortest of any American passerine. However, its weight, which averages around 5.9 g (0.21 oz), with a range of 4 to 7.8 g (0.14 to 0.28 oz), is marginally more on average than the American bushtit and black-tailed gnatcatcher. The golden-crowned kinglet has a wingspan of 5.5-7.1 in (14-18 cm).


The golden-crowned kinglet forages actively in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects, insect eggs and spiders. It produces a series of high-pitched calls on a single note, and tends not to fear human approach. Its nest is a well-concealed hanging cup suspended from a conifer branch.


The golden-crowned kinglet is a widespread migratory bird throughout North America. Its breeding habitat is coniferous forests across Canada, the northeastern and western United States, Mexico and Central America. It migrates to the United States in the non-breeding season. Some birds are permanent residents in coastal regions and in the southern parts of their range. Northern birds remain further north in winter than the ruby-crowned kinglet.


Repipta taurus, the red bull assassin, is a species of assassin bug in the family Reduviidae. It is found in Central America and North America.


Reseda lutea, the yellow mignonette or wild mignonette, is a species of fragrant herbaceous plant.  Its leaves and flowers have been used to make a yellow dye called "weld" since the first millennium BC, although the related plant Reseda luteola was more widely used for that purpose.
A native of Eurasia and North Africa, the plant is present on other continents as an introduced species and a common weed. In Australia it is a noxious weed and pest of agricultural crops.


Reseda luteola is a plant species in the genus Reseda. Common names include dyer's rocket, dyer's weed, weld, woold, and yellow weed. A native of Europe and Western Asia, the plant can be found in North America as an introduced species and common weed. While other resedas were used for the purpose, this species was the most widely used source of the natural dye known as weld. The plant is rich in luteolin, a flavonoid which produces a bright yellow dye. The yellow could be mixed with the blue from woad (Isatis tinctoria) to produce greens such as Lincoln green.


The dye was in use by the first millennium BC, and perhaps earlier than either woad or madder. Until the discovery of quercitron it was the most used yellow dye but by the end of the 19th century had ceased to be in wide use due to the discovery of the synthetic aniline dyes which were cheaper to produce. Historically, France exported large quantities of weld.
It prefers waste places. Good weld for dye must have flowers of a yellow or greenish color, and abound in leaves; that which is small, thin-stemmed, and yellow is better than that which is large, thick-stemmed, and green; that which grows on dry, sandy soils is better than that produced on rich and moist soils. For the greatest production of coloring matter, the plant should be cut before the fruits show much development, otherwise the pigment diminishes. Dye from weld serves equally for linen, wool, and silk, dyeing with proper management all shades of yellow, and producing a bright and beautiful color.
Reseda is a primary dye for the wool tapestries at the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre in Giza, Egypt.  Each February, the reseda is harvested for the annual wool dyeing event among all the artists at the centre.


A dominating natural plant chemical in Reseda luteola is glucobarbarin, named for its occurrence in a distantly related plant, Barbarea vulgaris. Glucobarbarin is a glucosinolate, the characteristic chemicals in the order Brassicales (Cabbages, mustards etc.) that Reseda luteola belongs to. When the plant is crushed, glucobarbarin is converted by an enzyme into barbarin (5-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidine-2-thione). This compound is sometimes (inappropriately) named resedinine, a name coined by Soviet researchers that rediscovered the compound in Reseda luteola  (Lutfullin et al., 1976) apparently without being aware of the previous discovery and naming in the west around two decades earlier. Yet another enzyme slowly converts barbarin into resedine (5-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one), this chemical discovered and named by the same Soviet researchers (Lutfullin et al., 1976), giving it a name that is still valid. Barbarin and resedine can also be called alkaloids, but they are not typical alkaloids, in that they do not exist in the intact plant but are only formed after crushing the plant physically. Glucobarbarin, like other glucosinolates, is known to attract cabbage butterflies for egg-laying. Any ecological, medical or health effects of barbarin and resedine are poorly understood.


Reynoutria japonica, synonyms Fallopia japonica and Polygonum cuspidatum, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is native to East Asia in Japan, China and Korea. In North America and Europe, the species has successfully established itself in numerous habitats, and is classified as a pest and invasive species in several countries.
Japanese knotweed has hollow stems with distinct raised nodes that give it the appearance of bamboo, though it is not related. While stems may reach a maximum height of 3–4 m (10–13 ft) each growing season, it is typical to see much smaller plants in places where they sprout through cracks in the pavement or are repeatedly cut down. The leaves are broad oval with a truncated base, 7–14 cm (3–5+1⁄2 in) long and 5–12 cm (2–4+1⁄2 in) broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are small, cream or white, produced in erect racemes 6–15 cm (2+1⁄2–6 in) long in late summer and early autumn.
Related species include giant knotweed (Reynoutria sachalinensis, syns. Fallopia sachalinensis, Polygonum sachalinense) and Russian vine (Fallopia baldschuanica, syn. Polygonum baldschuanicum).


Common names for Japanese knotweed include fleeceflower, Himalayan fleece vine, billyweed, monkeyweed, monkey fungus, elephant ears, pea shooters, donkey rhubarb, American bamboo, and Mexican bamboo, among many others, depending on country and location. In Japanese, the name is itadori (虎杖, イタドリ). The kanji expression is from the Chinese meaning 'tiger stick'. One interpretation of the Japanese name is that it comes from 'remove pain' (alluding to its painkilling use), though there are other etymological explanations offered.


Identification of Japanese knotweed is not always easy. Many other plants are suspected of being knotweed, due often to the similar appearance of leaves and stems. Dogwood, lilac, houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata), ornamental bistorts such as red bistort (Persicaria amplexicaulis), lesser knotweed (Koenigia campanulata), Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius), bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), bamboo, Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa), and Russian vine (Fallopia baldschuanica) have been suspected of being Reynoutria japonica.
New leaves of Reynoutria japonica are dark red and 1 to 4 cm (1⁄2 to 1+1⁄2 in) long; young leaves are green and rolled back with dark red veins; leaves are green and shaped like a heart flattened at the base, or a shield, and are usually around 12 cm (5 in) long. Mature R. japonica forms 2-to-3-metre-tall (6+1⁄2 to 10 ft), dense thickets. The stems look somewhat like bamboo, with rings and purple speckles. Leaves shoot from the stem nodes alternately in a zigzag pattern. Mature, healthy stems are hollow and not woody. Plants that are immature or affected by mowing and other restrictions have much thinner and shorter stems than mature stands, and are not hollow.


It grows widely throughout Japan and is foraged as a wild edible vegetable (sansai), though not in sufficient quantities to be included in statistics. They are called by such regional names as tonkiba (Yamagata), itazuiko (Nagano, Mie), itazura (Gifu, Toyama, Nara, Wakayama, Kagawa), gonpachi (Shizuoka, Nara, Mie, Wakayama), sashi (Akita, Yamagata), jajappo (Shimane, Tottori, Okayama), sukanpo (many areas).
Young leaves and shoots, which look like asparagus, are used. They are extremely sour; the fibrous outer skin must be peeled, soaked in water for half a day raw or after parboiling, before being cooked.
Places in Shikoku such as central parts of Kagawa Prefecture pickle the peeled young shoots by weighting them down in salt mixed with 10% nigari (magnesium chloride). People in Kochi also rub these cleaned shoots with coarse salt-nigari blend. It is said (though no authority is cited) that the magnesium of the nigari binds with the oxalic acid thus mitigating its hazard.


This species is listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the world's worst invasive species.
It is a frequent colonizer of temperate riparian ecosystems, roadsides, and waste places. It forms thick, dense colonies that completely crowd out any other herbaceous species and is now considered one of the worst invasive exotics in parts of the eastern United States. The success of the species has been partially attributed to its tolerance of a very wide range of conditions; including drought, different soil types, variable soil pH, and high salinity. Its rhizomes can survive temperatures of −35 °C (−31 °F) and can extend 7 metres (23 ft) horizontally and 3 metres (10 ft) deep, making removal by excavation extremely difficult. The plant is also resilient to cutting, vigorously resprouting from the roots.


The invasive root system and strong growth can damage concrete foundations, buildings, flood defences, roads, paving, retaining walls and architectural sites. It can also reduce the capacity of channels in flood defences to carry water.
Japanese knotweed shades out other vegetation, overgrows buildings and other structures, encourages fire, and damages paved surfaces.


Japanese knotweed has a large underground network of roots (rhizomes). To eradicate the plant the roots need to be killed. All above-ground portions of the plant need to be controlled repeatedly for several years in order to weaken and kill the entire patch. Picking the right herbicide is essential, as it must travel through the plant and into the root system below. But also more ecologically-friendly means are being tested as an alternative to chemical treatments.


The abundance of the plant can be significantly reduced by applying glyphosate, imazapyr, a combination of both, or by cutting all visible stalks and filling the stems with glyphosate. However, these methods have not been proven to provide reliable long-term results in completely eliminating the treated population.


Research has been carried out on a Mycosphaerella leaf spot fungus, which devastates knotweed in its native Japan. This research has been relatively slow due to the complex life cycle of the fungus.
Following earlier studies, imported Japanese knotweed psyllid insects Aphalara itadori, whose only food source is Japanese knotweed, were released at a number of sites in Britain in a study running from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2014. In 2012, results suggested that establishment and population growth were likely, after the insects overwintered successfully. In 2020 Amsterdam imported and released 5,000 Japanese Aphalara itadori leaf fleas, exempting them from a strict ban on the introduction of alien species, as one of the measures to contain the knotweed. The psyllids suck up sap from the plant, potentially killing young shoots and slowing or even stopping growth. It was hoped that the psyllid would hibernate over winter and establish themselves in 2021.
Anecdotal reports of effective control describe the use of goats to eat the plant parts above ground followed by the use of pigs to root out and eat the underground parts of the plant.


Japanese knotweed is classed as an unwanted organism in New Zealand and is established in some parts of the country.


The weed can be found in 42 of the 50 United States.