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Project Noah Nature School
Prunella modularis
The generally quite dull and unobtrusive looks of the Dunnock bely its unusual mating habits: it forms one-female-two-male or even one-male-two-female trios when breeding. Polyandry, though, is the most common mating system of dunnocks found in nature. Polygynandry also exists. Dunnocks take just one-tenth of a second to copulate and can mate more than 100 times a day. Easily overlooked, it is widely distributed in a great variety of places, like the Wren. Its sharp calls and fast, high-pitched but slightly “flat” song call attention to it. If disturbed, it generally flies at near ground-level into the nearest thick bush, and is sometimes taken for some rare, vagrant warbler. The dunnock typically measures 13.5–14 cm in length. It possesses a streaked back, somewhat resembling a small house sparrow. Like that species, the dunnock has a drab appearance in order to avoid predation. It is brownish underneath, and has a fine pointed bill. Adults have a grey head, and both sexes are similarly coloured Forages on ground, shuffling, crouched, often in or around bushes, close to cover; picks up small insects and seeds.
Spotted at a gallery forest, close to a small brook.
Camera Model: NIKON D300. Exposure Time: 1/160 sec.; f/6.3; ISO Speed Rating: 800. Exposure Bias: 0 EV. Focal Length: 300.0 mm. No flash fired
Spotted on Feb 26, 2015
Submitted on May 13, 2015
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