1 EAGLETON NOTES: Dunnock or Hedgesparrow

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Wednesday 11 May 2016

Dunnock or Hedgesparrow

I was idly looking out of the kitchen window a few days ago when a Dunnock caught my eye. I am used to seeing dozens of Sparrows (House Sparrows to be precise) very day and all day in the garden. However a Dunnock is a relative rarity and I discovered that I've never posted seeing one on the blog. Dunnocks or Hedgesparrows look similar to female House Sparrows but are Accentors and have a grey head and chest and a fine beak unlike the House Sparrow's finch-like beak. They are also a solitary bird unlike the very gregarious House Sparrows.



20 comments:

  1. A lovely little bird. I love learning about their habits too. What fun that it was right there, in the garden! xoxo DeeDee

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    1. They are not uncommon DeeDee but I don't see many of them here in the garden.

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  2. I would not have known the differences between this bird and a sparrow, but now that you have pointed them out they are rather obvious.

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    1. Yes Meike they are obvious when you look in detail.

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  3. Thank you for the excellent second picture that will help me to identify dunnocks in the future.

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  4. You got a very detailed photo of a handsome little bird. He's much better looking than the house sparrow.

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  5. Because they are so common (and brown) we tend to overlook them, in fact they're lovely little birds.

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  6. A cute little bird, whatever the name.

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    1. I've always rather liked the name Dunnock Virginia.

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  7. That must have been an exciting moment.

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  8. Missed this post. There is a male here with three wives, I suspect it is a Saudi Dunnock. You did well to get a picture they seem to spend their lives hiding in ground litter.

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    1. Yes Adrian they are not the most forthcoming of birds in the open.

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  9. I don't think I'd be able to tell that from a sparrow but it is a lovely little bird.

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    1. You would Pauline as soon as you looked closely. It's just that at a glance they looking similar.

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