Dunnock

Prunella modularis

Length          14 cm
Wingspan    20 cm
Weight.         25 g
Population   2,000,000 pairs

 
Dunnocks are native to the UK and large areas of Europe with their range spreading as far as Lebanon, northern Iran, and the Caucasus. The ground feeding dunnock’s favoured habitats include woodlands, shrubs, gardens, and hedgerows. The dunnock looks from a distance similar to a house sparrow but the easiest way to tell them apart is the bill.  A dunnock’s bill is thin and pointy, while a sparrow’s is much broader and powerful looking. Sparrows also live in flocks, while dunnocks are rarely seen in more than pairs.
The dunnock, a quiet and plain sparrow sized bird measures 13–15 cm in length. It’s also known as the hedge sparrow but it’s not actually a member of the sparrow family , but is instead a member of the family of birds called accentors. It possesses a streaked back, resembling a small house sparrow with a distinctive pattern around the eye. The dunnock has a drab appearance which may have evolved to avoid predation. It is brownish underneath, and has a fine pointed bill. Adults have a grey head, and both sexes are similarly coloured.

Dunnocks are territorial and the male bird may engage in conflict with other male birds that encroach upon their territory. Female territorial ranges are almost always exclusive. However, sometimes, multiple males will co-operate to defend a single territory containing multiple females.

The dunnock possesses variable mating systems. Females are often polyandrous, breeding with two or more males at once, rare among birds. .Males provide parental care in proportion to their mating success, so two males and a female can commonly be seen provisioning nestlings at one nest.

The dunnock builds a neat nest of twigs and feathers , low in a bush or tree, where adults typically lay three to five unspotted blue eggs at a time. Dunnock’s can have two or three broods a season . Broods, depending on the population, can be raised by a lone female, multiple females with the part-time help of a male, multiple females with full-time help by a male.

A Cuckoo in the nest. Dunnock’s are one of the cuckoo’s favorite host’s. a female cuckoo will remove one of the dunnock’s eggs and then lay one of her own eggs. The cuckoo’s egg is completely different from the dunnock’s egg but is still not rejected.

The dunnock can be found mostly on the ground , feeding on a diet of spiders , ants , worms , insects during the summer with seeds and berries during autumn and winter.

Conservation status.

Classified as Amber in the UK under birds of conservation concern . as with most wildlife in the uk the dunnock is protected under the wildlife and countryside act , 1981.

GREAT TIT

Here is my photo of the week , the humble Great tit , enjoying a bath in the paddling pool at the Meadow Hide.

by phans66 May 15, 2022

IT’S ALL SO QUIET

Today I’m flying solo at the hide. The much needed trim to the path is now complete , paddling pool water topped up , so that’s todays duties done and dusted. It’s quiet here today , both in the number of feathers and paws visiting the hide , but also noise created by humans. The […]

by phans66 May 14, 2022

FRIDAY AT THE HIDE

Friday at the hide , 13th may 2022 A bonus day at the hide today , and i’m not here alone , today my co-pilot is none other than The Wiltshire Birdman , Mr Graham Stewart. It’s been over a week since my last visit to the hide , an boy has the meadow grown […]

by phans66 May 13, 2022