The Dunnock (Prunella Modularis) is a passerine (“technical” term for a perching bird). The photograph above was taken in early March. Although they are also commonly seen among garden birds, Dunnocks that I saw on this particular day were along with several other ground-feeding birds searching busily for food on the grass verge of a cycle path. There were also Blackbirds in the area and an occasional Robin, all intent on the same quest For quite a while none of them, so far as I could tell, was successful to any great extent. Then suddenly this Dunnock pounced on a worm. That would keep him nicely fueled for a while.
Dunnock or Sparrow?
People sometimes ask, “Why is a Hedge Sparrow called a Dunnock?” or, “Is a Dunnock the same as a sparrow?”
Actually this little brown bird used to be called a Hedge Sparrow. However, if you look at one side by side with, for example, a House Sparrow you quickly realise that it is not in any sense of the word a sparrow. The bill especially is a giveaway. Nowadays ornithologists group it with the Accentors, although it is the only one of these that is common in Britain.
Dunnocks in my books
Having mentioned a Robin in the previous paragraph I am reminded me that in the first of “My LIttle Bird Books“, Robin Redbreast, there is a story about Dunnock behaviour. One that I was watching tried to take over a Robin’s favourite perching place.
Eventually I hope to include the Dunnock in one of the Little Bird Books, but not yet; the next one planned is about Finches. So here’s a link to the BTO site. When “Some of My Birds” is published later this year, though, there will be something about this little bird.
Although many people pass them off as dull and uninteresting I disagree, and in the right light their wing and back feathers can look beautiful.
A Singing Dunnock
And finally, another photograph showing one of these little brown birds singing enthusiastically from the top of a tree toward the end of March as the breeding season gets well underway. He may already have a mate who he is singing to impress, or he may be trying to attract one – or even another, as he’d be unusual among his species if he was satisfied with one. Unlike the Robin he’s far from monogamous.
