Dunnock

The dunnock is a small songbird that originated in Europe. It goes by many names, including hedge sparrow and hedge accentor. However, it is not really a sparrow at all, but rather a type of accentor. The identification between them can be a little tricky on account of similar appearances. The most interesting thing about them is that their mating system runs the gamut between fully monogamous and fully polygamous, depending on the circumstances. If you want to attract a dunnock to your backyard, then you should provide it with a simple shelter and clean water. They do not use nest boxes very much.

Dunnock Amazing Facts

• The English name dunnock comes from a combination of dun, meaning brown, and the diminutive ock. A diminutive denotes smallness.
• If a female has already mated with multiple partners, then the male dunnock can remove the sperm from her last partner. This promotes their own sperm at the expense of others.
• Male dunnocks will sometimes invest time into raising juveniles that are not their own if they have previously mated with the mother.
• The dunnock is one of the few birds in which the female maintains its own territory.

Where to Find the Dunnock

The dunnock can be found in shrubs, hedgerows, and mixed forests (occasionally even coastal cliffs and dunes as well) throughout most of Europe and western Asia. They were also introduced to New Zealand in the 19th century and have since thrived there. The dunnock is one of the few accentors that lives outside of mountain habitats.

Nests

The dunnock’s nest is constructed from twigs and moss and then lined with wool, feathers, and other soft material. The nest is usually found in a bush or conifer tree.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of the dunnock is Prunella modularis. Prunella comes from the diminutive form of the Latin word brunus or prunus, meaning brown. Modularis is a Latin word that means modulating or singing. The dunnock’s closest living relatives include the brown accentor, Japanese accentor, robin accentor, and several other species within the same genus. Eight subspecies of the dunnock are currently recognized. Although a few taxonomists have suggested that some of these could be made their own separate species, for now they are considered subspecies of the dunnock.

Size, Appearance, and Behavior

The dunnock is a small robin-sized bird with a plump, rounded body and a thin, pointed beak. It measures 5 to 6 inches from head to tail with a wingspan of around 8 inches. The breast and face are marked by bluish gray plumage, whereas the wings and tail have brown plumage with dark black streaks in them. Males and females look similar to each other, which can make identification difficult, but juveniles tend to have less gray than adults.

The dunnock is mostly a quiet, shy bird that hunts for food near bushes, gardens, and hedgerows with its distinctive shuffling gait. When two rival males encounter each other, they descend into an animated flurry of wing flicking and loud calls. The bird song, which is produced by the males in the breeding season, resembles a harsh, squeaking warble sound. Unusual among birds, both male and female dunnocks create and defend their own separate territories.

Migration and Timing

The dunnock is mostly a sedentary species that remains in the same place all year round, but in the coldest part of its range, it will travel short distances to escape the winter weather.

Diet

The dunnock is an omnivorous bird. It can often be seen flitting around a bush, pecking at the ground in search of food.

What does the dunnock eat?

The dunnock mostly feeds on insects, worms, and spiders. It will also supplement this with small seeds in the winter.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

According to the IUCN Redlist, the dunnock is a species of least concern; populations appear to be robust and widespread. But it still faces a few challenges in the wild. The loss of brush and hedgerows has made it difficult for some populations to survive. They are also victimized by cuckoos that lay their eggs in the dunnock’s nest and trick the parents into raising their offspring at the expense of the dunnock chicks.

What eats the dunnock?

The dunnock is preyed upon by cats, sparrowhawks, and other birds of prey. They can chase the predator away by mobbing it.

Reproduction, Young, and Molting

Dunnocks have extremely versatile reproductive strategies that depend on food density and the ratio of males to females. When food is particularly abundant, the females will reduce their territorial size, allowing males to more easily monopolize access to mates. In this scenario, a single male (or even two joint males) will have exclusive mating access to several females. When food is scarce, however, females will greatly increase their territorial size, which can lead to the opposite scenario: a single female monopolizing reproductive access to several males.

The dunnock breeding season usually takes place in the spring with a communal display in which the birds hop around, flick their wings, and make a staccato song. After choosing a mate, the pair can copulate once or twice an hour during the entire 10-day mating period. The female will produce three to six blue eggs.

After an incubation period lasting nearly two weeks, the chicks are born naked and helpless. Both males and females, sometimes arranged in cooperative groups, take turns feeding and caring for the young. The juveniles will fledge a mere 11 or 12 days later, and mature dunnocks can produce up to three broods per mating season. Due to predation and disease, their average lifespan of two years is incredibly short. Many of these birds will only have a few chances to breed before they die. The record for the longest-living dunnock was about 11 years and three months.

Population

The dunnock has an estimated population size of 25 million to 44 million individuals, but there is a lot of uncertainty that makes it difficult to establish a more accurate population count. Nevertheless, population numbers do appear to be declining in some areas.