Dunnock

How to recognise it

• Lead-grey crown, eyebrow, nape, throat and breast
• Dark, plain body with a deep dark brown, black-streaked back
• Thin dark bill and reddish-brown legs
• The male averages slightly more lead-grey on head and neck than the female

Call and song

The song is fast, simple, high-pitched and silvery tinkling, and can recall that of the Goldcrest. The call is a thin, high "tih".

Where and when

The Dunnock is a migrant that breeds in Sweden and is common across the country, only exceptionally in the mountains. It leaves in September to November for western and southwestern Europe and returns in early April, when it is reported most. A few may winter in southern Sweden, and it is rarely reported in February. In 2025 it was added to the Swedish Red List as Near Threatened (NT).

Food and behaviour

The Dunnock often keeps hidden in dense bushes and sits more in the open when it sings. It usually feeds on the ground. In summer it eats insects such as small beetles, larvae and pupae, plus spiders and earthworms, and in winter also berries and seeds. It often flicks its wings, especially during territorial disputes or competition for mating.