Things you need to know about DUNNOCKS!

What do dunnocks eat? Where do they nest? How long do they live for? You will find out all of these answers in more in this Dunnock fact-file.
Sometimes referred to as a hedge sparrows despite appearances Dunnocks are not closely related to sparrows at all and are in fact the UK’s only member of the accentor family. They have a wingspan of 19 to 21 cm and grow to 19 to 24 grams in weight. Dunnocks are mottled chestnut brown over most of their bodies with grey chests and heads with noticeable brown cheeks. Unlike true sparrows, dunnocks have thin and pointed beaks. They are a common garden resident and are also seen in deciduous woodlands, parkland, heathland and farmland edges. Throughout most of the year a dunnocks diet is almost entirely made up of insects and other invertebrates but during the colder months when these are in short supply, they will also feed on seeds, sometimes visiting bird feeders but usually hoovering up seeds from underneath them.
David Attenborough made the dunnock famous in his documentary, Life of birds where he uncovered some of their varied and complex breeding strategies. Its been found that although they can form single faithful pairs, this is often not the case with some females mating with multiple males, some males mating with multiple females and sometimes 2 pairs forming and working together in a 4 way relationships. Dunnocks typically start nesting April onwards with the female creating a cup shaped nest of twigs lined with moss and hair. Once complete she will lay 3 to 5 blue eggs that measure around 20mm in length. She will incubate the eggs alone for 12 to 13 days but once the chicks hatch, the father or potential fathers will help her to feed the rapidly growing chicks. It takes just 12 days for the chicks to be ready to fledge, although if the weather is bad or food is in short supply they can remain in the nest for longer than this. Once they do fledge, the chicks stay in their parents territory for a further 3 to 4 weeks after which point they will be fully independent. Each female dunnock will nest 2 to 3 times per year, using the same nest each time if it remains intact and sometimes even using the same nest for multiple years. Interestingly, Dunnocks are one of the favoured target species for nesting cuckoos who I will cover in a future video.
In the UK and in western Europe Dunnocks are resident all year round but in northern Europe and Russia they are migratory, staying to breed and then heading south into southern Europe and west Asia to spend the winter. Outside of this natural range Dunnocks have been successfully introduced into new Zealand.
In the UK there are an estimated 2.5 million dunnocks and over the past 50 years their numbers have been slowly growing following a share decline in the 1970s. They have an average lifespan of around 2 years but the oldest known dunnock survived to 11 years and 3 months of age.
Thanks to Scottish birders and nests who provided some of the footage used in this video. here is their channel:
• Dunnock Nest Feeding C...
Cave O'Beirne also supplied some of the footage used in this video, his channel can be found at:
• Dunnock Chicks in nes...
Some of the other footage and images used were obtained using creative commons licences, the originals and their licence details can be found at:
• Dunnock (Hedge Sparrow...
• Heggemussen paren / Du...
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• Accenteur mouchet (Pru...
• Accenteur mouchet (Pru...
• Голоса птиц: Лесная за...
• Pěvuška modrá (Prunell...
• ACCENTEUR Mouchet/Prun...
• junge Heckenbraunelle ?
• Accenteur mouchet
• 12 Febbraio 2012 - Bar...
• Poursuite Rougegorge f...
• Faune du Jardin Intéri...
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#dunnock #britishbirds #gardenbirds

[@terencemeikle534]

They're beautiful little birds: their plumage may be 'merely' brown and grey, but if looked at more closely, it reveals a wealth of subtle shadings and intriguing details. Along with robins, they are a winter pal: buoyant, cheery, busily going about their business. 👌

[@grahamjordan1040]

Nothing like a sparrow they have a beak for eating insects and their nest is a very neat construction unlike the sparrow

[@riversong656]

I have them in my garden all year round and at the seed feeder. So pretty.

[@Crow_Friend]

Dunnocks are definitely a favourite of mine, you can make friends with them, where i used to live they used to come to my window for grated cheese & in the summer the pair would bring the whole family to visit. Little peepers 😍❤😍

[@jess53nz]

One of my absolute favourite birds! One day i saw one singing on the fence and couldn't believe the song coming out of such a tiny bird!

[@angr3819]

We used to have loads of house sparrows in outer London up to the 70's. They gradually disappeared. I never imagined not seeing them, as they were so very common.

[@unmissable]

I love dunnocks. They nest in my back garden. I have lots of them. They can be very bold. Lots of fun.

[@MyKharli]

Very sweet shy birds that live in a hedge near my back door . Never on my bird feeders but will get the crumbs on the floor . I think weasels and woodpeckers prey on them as they do to all reachable nests

[@auldfouter8661]

They're called Blue Dikeys in Scotland.

[@nikiTricoteuse]

Thanks for this interesting video. I'm constantly getting sparrows and dunnocks muddled up. But, l'm pleased to see one of the dunnocks eating fat :3.02 as, l've not seen that before. l'm watching from Aotearoa/ New Zealand and as it's winter here l have been feeding my garden birds. My favorite of the ones that visit my garden here in the city is the wax-eye or tauhou, which means newcomer or stranger in Māori. They're believed to have been blown here from Australia where They're indigenous, sometime in the 1830s. Because they're such tiny birds we put out apples, sugar water and lard for them as well as seeds for the sparrows and dunnocks. I've never seen a dunnock eating anything but seeds though, so perhaps it's the lard they don't like.

[@RYANandMICHELLEchannel]

Fascinating birds! Love watching the little babies getting fed

[@Keapix]

I love our dunnocks. They’re the bravest of our birds, and are always tidying up after the messy ones.

[@assymcgee7217]

You gotta love them dunnocks

[@PeekAtWildlife]

Excellent documentary on these beautiful birds!

[@allenmorgan]

Ever had one of those conversations when someone says "Oh, I only have sparrows in my garden", when they mean dunnocks? As if being surrounded by these wonderful characters is some sort of ornithological consolation prize.

[@equiliforce]

Excellent ! I love this little bird 👍

[@libbybaker86]

I didn't know about the different shaped beak. That will make them much easier to identify. Thanks Liam

[@williamrobinson7435]

Comprehensive and beautifully presented as ever. The dunnock's a great little bird! Nice one Liam. 🌟👍

[@WarrenPeace007]

I love having them in my garden

[@auroraborealis2442]

Another great, very informative video, thank you.