"Some days there won't be a song in your heart, sing anyway.- Emory Austin
Dunnocks are also referred to as "hedge sparrows", a name which is rather misleading.
Accentors are small, fairly drab species superficially similar, but unrelated to, sparrows; they are generally regarded as being related to the thrushes or the warblers. Accentors have thin sharp bills, reflecting their diet of ground-dwelling insects in summer, augmented with seeds and berries in winter. Sparrows on the other hand have stout conical bills adapted for seed eating.
The name dunnock comes from old English "dun" - brown and "ock" - small, literally translating to "little brown bird"! What it lacks with its drab sparrow like colouring, it makes up with its singing! The genus name accentor comes from Latin "ad cantor" which means - the singer.
Dunnock / Hedge accentor/ Hedge sparrow
(Prunella modularis)
Sony A77 II
Tamron 150-600
f/6.3, 1/125s, ISO2500, 600mm
Stamford (UK)
Dec 2020