THE DUNNOCK: a dowdy adventurer

SECRETIVE and yet common. The dunnock (Prunella modularis) is as much a familiar bird in urban areas as it is in the countryside. Every park, acre of farmland and even tree-lined street has its resident dunnocks, usually to be seen on the ground, foraging, wing-flicking and tail-twitching, running in a shuffling manner and occasionally being mistaken for a mouse.

Through the centuries, this species has amassed more than 50 local names in Britain. The oldest and best known – “hedge sparrow” and “dunnock” – have very ancient origins. “Hedge sparrow” derives from the Icelandic word hege for hedge, while sporr means “flutterer”: the origin of the name “sparrow”. (It is obvious from its warbler-type beak that the dunnock is not in fact a sparrow or a seedeater, although seeds form part of its diet, especially in winter, and it