Tiny bird, smaller than a warbler, with distinctive combination of boldly striped head, white wingbars, and bronzy-golden patch on sides of neck. Male has a fiery orange crown stripe; female's is yellow. Inhabits mixed forests, plantations, and gardens, usually in areas with conifers. In autumn and winter, often travels with foraging flocks of tits and other small woodland birds. Inconspicuous but active, often high in the canopy, giving high, thin, lisping vocalizations.