Bird school

• Brambling
• Blue tit
• Bullfinch
• Blackbird
• Barn swallow
• Bohemian waxwing
• Black woodpecker
• Black redstart
• Blackcap
• Chaffinch
• Chiffchaff
• Crow
• Coal tit
• Crested tit
• Common swift
• Common treecreeper
• Dunnock
• Fieldfare
• Greenfinch
• Goldfinch
• Greater woodpecker
• Garden warbler
• Great tit
• Green woodpecker
• House martin
• House sparrow
• Hawfinch
• Jackdaw
• Linnet
• Long-tailed tit
• Lesser whitethroat
• Lesser spotted woodpecker
• Marsh tit
• Magpie
• Mistle thrush
• Nightingale
• Nuthatch
• Pheasant
• Pied flycatcher
• Redpoll
• Rook
• Redstart
• Robin
• Spotted flycatcher
• Siskin
• Starling
• Song thrush
• Yellowhammer
• Winter wren
• Willow
• Tree sparrow
• Wood pigeon
• White wagtail
• Willow tit
• Whitethroat

The dunnock

Did you know?

The male

The female is often courted by several males, and therefore it is common for the chosen male to peck the female several times in the rump before the mating. This pecking triggers a reflex in the female that expels any sperm from a rival. This way, the male ensures that he alone is the father of the brood.

Appearance
Males and females look the same, with blue-grey chests and heads and a deep dark brown back with black lines. The dark, thin beak is characteristic for the dunnock.

Similar bird
Speckled brown like a sparrow. A thinner beak than the house sparrow and a leaden grey on its breast.

Sounds and song
The song is short and crystal clear as opposed to the robin’s ripple. The flight call is a metallic sound.

Food and bird tables
Rarely seen at the bird table.
In the winter the dunnock will feed on small seeds, but in the summer its diet is comprised of small beetles, larvae, pupae, spiders and worms.

The nest and hollows
The female builds the nest and places it close to ground, hidden in tight thickets. The nest itself is a bowl of blades, covered in moss and lined with hair and feathers.