Page 294 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WRENS, DIPPERS,WAXWINGS,AND ACCENTORS
Order Passeriformes Family Prunellidae Species Prunella modularis
Dunnock brown eye
streaked
brown cap fine dark
bill
black streaks on
rich brown back black and brown
and wings streaks on back
grey
brown cheeks throat
mid-grey
breast
soft, warm
brown streaks
on flanks
IN FLIGHT
line of pale ADULT
spots across
wings
uneven, grey
and brown
streaking below
JUVENILE
orange-
he generally quite dull and unobtrusive brown
Tlooks of the Dunnock bely its unusual legs
mating habits: it forms one-male-two-female or
even one-female-two-male trios when breeding. Easily
overlooked, it is widely distributed in a great variety of ADULT
places, like the Wren. Its sharp calls and fast, high-pitched but
slightly “flat” song call attention to it.If disturbed,it generally flies at
near ground-level into the nearest thick bush, and is sometimes taken
for some rare, vagrant warbler. FLIGHT: short, flitting, whirring; wings round, tail
VOICE Loud, high, penetrating pseeep, thin, vibrant teeee; song quick, quite long.
slightly flat, high-pitched, fast warble with
little contrast or variation in pitch.
NESTING Small grassy cup, lined
with hair and moss, in bush or
hedge; 4 or 5 eggs; 2 or 3 broods;
April–July.
FEEDING Forages on ground,
shuffling, crouched, often in or
around bushes,close to cover;picks
up small insects and seeds; feeds SHUFFLING FEEDER
on scraps beneath bird-tables and Dunnocks creep forward, flicking their tails, picking food from
grated cheese under shrubberies. the ground, without the bouncy hop of House Sparrows. OCCURRENCE
Breeds throughout Europe except
SIMILAR SPECIES in Iceland. Present only in summer
in N and E Europe; in some parts
ROBIN juvenile; short WREN MEADOW PIPIT of S Europe in winter. Widespread,
see p.295 see p.289 see p.282
tail on heaths and moors with low,
paler
paler dense scrub and exposed coastal
smaller areas as well as in higher forest,
more buff streaked bushy gardens, ornamental
below buff
underside flowerbeds, and parks.
barred
Seen in the UK
J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 14cm (5 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 19–21cm (7 1 ⁄2 –8 1 ⁄2in) Weight 19–24g ( 11 ⁄16 – 7 ⁄8oz)
Social Family groups Lifespan Up to 5 years Status Secure
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