Also known as the hedge sparrow or hedge warbler, the dunnock is a small passerine bird whose name means “little brown”. Unlike other small brown birds of similar size in Britain, dunnocks frequently flick their wings, particularly during territorial disputes or when competing for mates. This behaviour led to their old nickname, “shufflewing”.
Since the 1970s, dunnock numbers have declined by nearly a third, likely due to the loss and degradation of woodlands and hedgerows. Although the population has been recovering since the 1990s, the species remains a conservation concern.
Breeding birds: 2,300,000 territories
Family: Accentors
The adult male dunnock has brown upperparts with pale and dark brown streaks on the mantle and rump. Its wings and tail are dark brown, with a buff wing bar. The underparts are grey, with brown flanks streaked with dark brown, and the underwings are grey. The head has a grey face, brown cheeks, a brown forehead and crown streaked with dark brown, and a distinctive blue-grey eyebrow. The bill is black with a red base, the eyes are chestnut-brown, and the legs and feet are pink.
Female dunnocks are similar but slightly smaller and duller, with paler grey areas on the head and underparts.
Juvenile dunnocks are brown with heavy black streaks and a fine wing bar. The head is brown without blue-grey, and the eyes are dark brown.
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Dunnocks breed between April and June, typically producing two broods per season. While most are monogamous, some dunnocks form more complex relationships involving multiple partners.
They build their nests in dense shrubs and hedges, with the female constructing the nest alone. The cup-shaped nest is made from twigs, moss, dry leaves, and plant material, and lined with fur, wool, feathers, and moss. Dunnocks lay 4–5 turquoise eggs, sometimes marked with reddish spots. The eggs are incubated by the female for 12–13 days, during which she frequently leaves the nest for around ten minutes at a time to feed.
Both adults feed the chicks, which leave the nest after about 12 days. During the final days before fledging, the male takes over feeding duties while the female begins building a new nest for her second brood. Dunnocks reach sexual maturity at one year.
Dunnocks are frequent hosts of the common cuckoo, despite the obvious difference between their eggs.
During the breeding season, dunnocks feed on insects and their larvae, spiders, and green caterpillars, picking their prey from leaf litter or between roots.
In autumn and winter, their diet includes seeds and berries, and they often visit garden bird feeders in search of food.
Dunnocks can be seen all over the UK. They can be found in areas with vegetation such as shrubs and bushes. Look out for them in woodland, farmland, parks, and gardens.
Dunnocks engage in both polyandry, where a female shares several males, a rare behaviour in birds, and polygyny, where a male shares several females.
