Dunnock

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Dunnock, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(III), Bern(III), NERC (41)

Dunnock abundance fell substantially between the mid 1970s and mid 1980s, after a period of population stability. Some recovery has occurred throughout the UK since the late 1990s, but the species still meets amber-list criteria. The BBS map of change in relative density between 1994-96 and 2007-09 indicates that increase over that period occurred mainly in Northern Ireland and in northwestern Britain. Clutch and brood sizes, and the number of fledglings per breeding attempt all increased as the population fell and have fallen again during the recent period of partial recovery. There has been a decline across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population

-38% decrease (1967–2020)

The resident Dunnock occurs in 93% of 10-km squares both in winter and the in breeding season, being absent only from treeless stretches of the Scottish Highlands, and parts of the Outer Hebrides and Northern Isles. Densities in both seasons are highest in south and east Ireland and throughout much of lowland England.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	2792
% occupied in breeding season	92
No. occupied in winter	2809
% occupied in winter	93

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in	Villages
Also common in	Scrub, Arable Farmland, Pasture Farmland, Towns

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Dunnock distribution has changed little since the 1970s; some apparent gains in the uplands of northwest Scotland, on Orkney and the Outer Hebrides may reflect improved coverage. However, relative abundance has increased in many parts of Britain & Ireland since the early 1990s.

Dunnock is recorded throughout the year though can be more skulking after breeding in late summer and early autumn.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	10 years 7 months 23 days (set in 2012)
Typical Lifespan	2 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.473±0.012
Juvenile Survival	0.347 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	69.9±2.1 | Range 67–73mm, N=24215
	Juveniles	69.4±2 | Range 66-72mm, N=23776
	Males	70.7±1.9 | Range 68–74mm, N=6571
	Females	68.8±1.9 | Range 66–72mm, N=3114

Body Weight	Adults	21.2±3.08 | Range 18.6–24.0g, N=19587
	Juveniles	20.5±2.0822 | Range 18.1–23.2g, N=19030
	Males	20.9±3.22 | Range 18.7–23.1g, N=5345
	Females	20.9±1.96 | Range 18.1–24.5g, N=2513

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	B
Field Codes	2-letter: D. | 5-letter code: DUNNO | Euring: 10840

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

The decline of the species between the mid 1970s and mid 1980s is likely to be due to several factors, but strong experimental evidence in farmland areas suggests that this may be linked to reduced winter food availability. This reflects similar results found for other species that suffer a 'hungry gap' in February and March.

Further information on causes of change

The cause of the decline between the mid 1970s and mid 1980s is unknown, but a recently constructed integrated population model suggests that variation in adult survival plays a key role in determining annual population change (Robinson et al. 2014). It is possible that decline was limited to the farmland and woodland habitats that were covered by CBC, prior to the inception of BBS in 1994.

Feeding experiments have revealed that the use Dunnocks make of farmland feeding stations peaks after mid February, as natural food becomes depleted, suggesting that food availability on farmland is a limiting factor in the population (Siriwardena et al. 2007, 2008). This reflects similar results found for other farmland birds that experience a 'hungry gap' in February and March (Siriwardena et al. 2008). Evidence from the study also suggested that breeding abundance was stable where the use of provided food was high, although this may be a density-dependent result as high use occurred at high abundance (Siriwardena et al. 2007).

The CBC trend in woodland plots suggested that the species had declined by 58% between 1966 and 2000 (Fuller et al. 2005). The most likely cause for this decline is loss of understorey due to canopy closure, in the absence of forest management and especially to increasing browsing pressure from deer (Gill & Fuller 2007). In Bradfield Woods, Suffolk, Dunnocks responded negatively to browsing pressure (Holt et al. 2011). Shrub density has been identified as the most important predictor of Dunnock abundance at this site (Fuller & Henderson 1992).

Information about conservation actions

The most likely driver of the decline of this species on farmland during the late 1970s and 1980s was agricultural intensification and reduced winter food availability. The Dunnock is affected by the 'hunger gap' in late winter (Siriwardena et al. 2008; see Causes of Change section, above) and therefore ensuring food is available after mid-February is likely to be particularly important. Conservation actions and agri-environment options which could help achieve this include supplementary feeding (Siriwardena et al. 2007) and other actions which increase winter food supply such as the planting of wild bird seed cover, the retention of stubble fields, and the use of buffer strips, conservation headlands, set-aside and similar habitats to increase the availability of natural seed resources.

The species is also declining in woodland, where the main cause is likely to be the closure of the canopy and increased levels of deer browsing leading to loss of shrubs in the understorey. Therefore, active woodland management to create a more open canopy and to control deer numbers may create better habitat conditions for Dunnocks.