Dunnock in my garden
Dunnocks are fairly dull looking birds, but they are welcome and frequent visitors to our garden. They particularly come out after mowing the lawn or after sprinkling it. They fly very little and mostly hop on the floor in search of food. They are quite shy birds, yet in our case they have been coming for so long that we will tolerate each other. The same cannot be said of our cat.
The dunnock is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is by far the most widespread member of the accentor family, which otherwise consists of mountain species. Other common names of the dunnock include the hedge accentor, hedge sparrow, or hedge warbler.
