Dunnock
Prunella modularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The dunnock (Prunella modularis) is a small bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the order Passeriformes and the family Prunellidae. Adults weigh 20.24 g, with reported values from 20.05 g to 20.7 g, and the wingspan is 21 cm.
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Quick facts about the dunnock
It is a sedentary, terrestrial invertivore of forest habitat, with a trophic level classed as omnivore. The dunnock lays 4.9 eggs per clutch and 2.5 clutches per year, and the IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 20.1 g – 20.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 21 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10.4 years – 20.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 12.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the dunnock?
Photos of the dunnock
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the dunnock live?
Not recorded
What is the dunnock?
The dunnock (Prunella modularis) is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been introduced and become common in New Zealand. It is the most widespread member of the accentor family; most other accentors are limited to mountain habitats. Other, largely archaic, English names for the dunnock include hedge accentor, hedge sparrow, hedge warbler, and titling.
From the Wikipedia article “Dunnock” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dunnock&oldid=1383874001), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the dunnock sound like?
Is the dunnock endangered?
The dunnock is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the dunnock classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPrunellidae
- genusPrunella
- SpeciesPrunella modularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Accentor familiaris, Accentor modularis, Curruca eliotae, Motacilla modularis, Motacilla plumbea, Sylvia modularis, Tarrhaleus modularis
Other names and names in other languages (112)
- BillyEnglish
- Blue IsaacEnglish
- Common accentorEnglish
- Common dunnockEnglish
- European dunnockEnglish
- Hedge accentorEnglish
- Hedge BettyEnglish
- Hedge ChanterEnglish
- Hedge dunnockEnglish
- Hedge MikeEnglish
- Hedge sparrowEnglish
- Hedge warblerEnglish
- Hedge-sparrowEnglish
- HedgepopEnglish
- عصفور الشوكArabic
- RocaceroAragonese
- carboneruAsturian
- cenicientaAsturian
- Лясная завірушкаBelarusian
- Сивогуша завирушкаBulgarian
- Gwrac'hig an drezBreton
- pardal de bardissaCatalan
- Чӑрӑш кайӑкӗChuvash
- pěvuška modráCzech
- Llwyd y GwrychWelsh
- Llwydiaid y GwrychWelsh
- JernspurvDanish
- HeckenbraunelleGerman
- ΘαμvoψάλτηςGreek
- Κοινός ΘαμνοψάλτηςGreek
- (Κοινός) ΘαμνοψάλτηςGreek
- HeĝproneloEsperanto
- heĝa proneloEsperanto
- Acentor comúnSpanish
- võsaraatEstonian
- Tuntun arruntBasque
- صعوه جنگلیPersian
- rautiainenFinnish
- JarntítlingurFaroese
- Traîne-buissonFrench
- Accenteur mouchetFrench
- Mouchet chanteurFrench
- KurnfinkNorthern Frisian
- GraupiperWestern Frisian
- DonnógIrish
- donnagScottish Gaelic
- donnaganScottish Gaelic
- gealbhonn nam preasScottish Gaelic
- gealbhonn-gàraidhScottish Gaelic
- gealbhonnan nam preasScottish Gaelic
- gealbhonnan-gàraidhScottish Gaelic
- riabhagScottish Gaelic
- riabhaganScottish Gaelic
- Azulenta comúnGalician
- Boght keeirManx
- Buntee gorrymManx
- סתרי מצויHebrew
- sivi popićCroatian
- erdei szürkebegyHungarian
- Անտառային նրբագեղիկArmenian
- Նրբագեղիկ անտառայինArmenian
- RunntítlaIcelandic
- Passera scopaiolaItalian
- ヨーロッパカヤクグリJapanese
- Орман содырғысыKazakh
- 유럽바위종다리Korean
- Golvan keCornish
- HeckestéisserLuxembourgish
- HeckeschlëfferLuxembourgish
- ErškėtžvirblisLithuanian
- paprastasis erškėtžvirblisLithuanian
- peļkājīteLatvian
- обично попчеMacedonian
- ŻiemelMaltese
- HeggemusDutch
- BastaardnachtegaalDutch
- BlauwpieperDutch
- BoerennachtegaalDutch
- DorenkruiperDutch
- GrauwpieperDutch
- HeggemuschjeDutch
- HeggenmusDutch
- HeggerienkenDutch
- PieperkeDutch
- WinterzangerDutch
- jernsporvNorwegian Nynorsk
- Płochacz pokrzywnicaPolish
- (płochacz) pokrzywnicaPolish
- PokrzywnicaPolish
- ferreirinha-comumPortuguese
- FerreirinhaPortuguese
- Brunella da chagliaRomansh
- Brumăriţă de pădureRomanian
- Brumăriță de pădureRomanian
- Лесная завирушкаRussian
- RuovdecizášNorthern Sami
- ruovdecihciNorthern Sami
- vrchárka modráSlovak
- siva pevkaSlovenian
- Dredhuesi gushëpërhimëAlbanian
- Dredhuesi gushëpërhimtëAlbanian
- Obični popićSerbian
- Обични попићSerbian
- järnsparvSwedish
- BozboğanTurkish
- Çit SerçesiTurkish
- DağbülbülüTurkish
- тинівка лісоваUkrainian
- MoretaVenetian
- MoreteWalloon
- 林岩鷚Chinese
- 林岩鹨Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the dunnock
Other species in the same genus Prunella.
Alpine accentor
Prunella collaris
Siberian accentor
Prunella montanella
Black-throated accentor
Prunella atrogularis
Radde's accentor
Prunella ocularis
Brown accentor
Prunella fulvescens
Altai accentor
Prunella himalayana
CompareDunnock vs Alpine accentorDunnock vs Siberian accentorDunnock vs Black-throated accentorDunnock vs Radde's accentor
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a dunnock?
The dunnock is a small bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, in the order Passeriformes and the family Prunellidae.
What does the dunnock eat?
The dunnock is an invertivore, and its trophic level is classed as omnivore.
How much does a dunnock weigh?
An adult Dunnock weighs 20.24 g, with reported values from 20.05 g to 20.7 g.
How long does a dunnock live?
The dunnock's lifespan is 10.35 years, with reported values up to 20.83 years.
Is the dunnock endangered?
No. The dunnock is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does a dunnock lay?
The dunnock lays 4.9 eggs per clutch and 2.5 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 12.5 days.
Who named the dunnock?
The dunnock, Prunella modularis, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
What are other names for the dunnock?
Other English names for the dunnock are Billy, Hedgepop, Hedge Mike, Blue Isaac and Hedge Betty.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dunnock (Prunella modularis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dunnock
“Dunnock (Prunella modularis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dunnock.
@misc{dunnock_2026,
title = {Dunnock (Prunella modularis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dunnock},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}