Dunnock

• With a colouring considered drab by some the hedge accentor or dunnock is a common bird of hedgerows, scrub and gardens
• Dunnocks are small robin-sized birds with a grey face and streaked brown back with rather thin pointed bills adapted for feeding on insects
• They can frequently be seen creeping along the ground in the vicinity of bushes
• On closer inspection it is quite attractive with its blue-grey head and breast, light and dark brown streaky back, brown streaked sides and pink legs
• Dunnocks are often seen around bird feeders and is more likely to feed on scraps dropped to the ground by other birds
• Dunnock song can be heard at any time of the year, but mostly in spring and usually delivered from the edge of a bush or low tree
• The nest is built by the female in dense shrubs and hedges
• In some rural areas dunnock nests may play host to Cuckoos
• Dunnocks have been discovered to have far from dull mating habits, with possible combinations extending beyond the usual male-female pairing to include one female and two males, or two females and one male