Tiny bird, smaller than warblers, with a distinctive combination of black-edged golden crown stripe, big dark eye giving impression of "innocent" face, ,and white wingbar offset by black wing patch. Resides in coniferous and mixed woodland, forest, plantations, and gardens with conifers; migrants show up in hedgerows and areas without 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. High-pitched jingling song has a distinctly up-and-down quality; calls are likewise thin and high-pitched.