Eurasian blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), also called the blackcap, is a bird in the family Sylviidae, order Passeriformes, within the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 16.7 g, up to 19 g, and a wingspan of 23 cm.
Quick facts about the Eurasian blackcap
The Eurasian blackcap is a migratory, perching omnivore of woodland, with a geographic range of 8,628,000 km². It lays 4.5 eggs per clutch with 2 clutches per year, incubates them for 11 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 16.7 g – 19 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 23 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 9.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 13.8 years
- Main food
- fruitssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 11 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the Eurasian blackcap?
Photos of the Eurasian blackcap
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Where does the Eurasian blackcap live?
Not recorded
What is the Eurasian blackcap?
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is a bird usually known simply as the blackcap. It is a common and widespread warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences across the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and its preferred habitat is mature deciduous woodland. The male holds a territory when breeding, which is defended against garden warblers as well as other blackcaps. The nest is a neat cup, built low in brambles or scrub, and the clutch is typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, which hatch in about 11 days. The chicks fledge in 11–12 days, but are cared for by both adults for some time after leaving the nest. The blackcap is a partial migrant; birds from the colder areas of its range winter in scrub or trees in northwestern Europe, around the Mediterranean and in tropical Africa. Some birds from Germany and western continental Europe have adapted to spending the winter in gardens in Great Britain and Ireland. Insects are the main food in the breeding season, but, for the rest of the year, blackcaps survive primarily on small fruit. Garden birds also eat bread, fat and peanuts in winter.
Despite extensive hunting in Mediterranean countries and the natural hazards of predation and disease, the blackcap has been extending its range for several decades, and is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as least concern. Its rich and varied song has led to it being described as the "mock nightingale" and it has featured in literature, films and music. In Messiaen's opera Saint François d'Assise, the saint is represented by themes based on the blackcap's song.
From the Wikipedia article “Eurasian blackcap” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eurasian_blackcap&oldid=1359675334), 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 Eurasian blackcap sound like?
Is the Eurasian blackcap endangered?
The Eurasian blackcap 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 Eurasian blackcap classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySylviidae
- genusSylvia
- SpeciesSylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Curruca atricapilla, Curruca nigricapilla, Curruca pileata, Curruca rubricapilla, Curruca ruficapilla, Epilais atricapilla, Ficedula atricapilla, Ficedula curruca atricapilla, Monachus atricapilla, Motacilla atricapilla, Motacilla rubricapilla, Parus dubius, Parus monachus, Philomela atricapilla
Other names and names in other languages (94)
- BlackcapEnglish
- BlackcapEnglish
- BlackcapEnglish
- SwartkroonsangerAfrikaans
- خُورِيArabic
- أبو قلنسوةArabic
- أسود القلنسوة الأوراسيArabic
- هازجة مقلنسة اوراسيةArabic
- PapafigaAragonese
- papuda gorretaAsturian
- Ҡарабаш килейекBashkir
- SchwårzplattlBavarian
- Леска-чорнагалоўкаBelarusian
- Валасянка чорнагаловаяBelarusian
- Черноглаво коприварчеBulgarian
- Голямо черноглаво коприварчеBulgarian
- Devedig kabell duBreton
- Devedig kapell duBreton
- Busqueret de CapellCatalan
- tallarol de casquetCatalan
- Хура пуҫлӑ чечен кайӑкChuvash
- pěnice černohlaváCzech
- PendduWelsh
- Barnwr y BerthWelsh
- Cric y BerthWelsh
- Lleian BendduWelsh
- Penddu'r BrwynWelsh
- PenloynWelsh
- Telor Bach PendduWelsh
- Telor Pen-DuWelsh
- telor pendduWelsh
- Telorion PendduWelsh
- Twm Cap DuWelsh
- Twm PendduWelsh
- MunkDanish
- MönchsgrasmückeGerman
- MönschgrasmückeGerman
- ΣικαλλίαGreek
- ΜαυροσκούφηςGreek
- nigraĉapa silvioEsperanto
- Curruca capirotadaSpanish
- mustpea-põõsalindEstonian
- Txinbo kaskabeltzBasque
- Txinbo kaskabeltzaBasque
- سسک سرسیاهPersian
- mustapääkerttuFinnish
- MunkurFaroese
- Fauvette à tête noireFrench
- NettelkrûperWestern Frisian
- Caipín dubhIrish
- ceann-dubhScottish Gaelic
- ceann-dubhagScottish Gaelic
- ceann-dubhaganScottish Gaelic
- cinn-dubhaScottish Gaelic
- Papuxa das amorasGalician
- סבכי שחור-כיפהHebrew
- סבכי שחור כיפהHebrew
- crnokapa grmušaCroatian
- barátposzátaHungarian
- Շահրիկ սևագլուխArmenian
- HettusöngvariIcelandic
- CapineraItalian
- ズグロムシクイJapanese
- ВэдщхьэфӀыцӀэKabardian
- Қарабас сандуғашKazakh
- 검은머리휘파람새Korean
- Schwaarz GraatschLuxembourgish
- juodagalvė devynbalsėLithuanian
- melngalvas ķauķisLatvian
- црноглаво грмушарчеMacedonian
- zwartkopDutch
- Feuvette à tête noèrePicard
- kapturkaPolish
- pokrzewka czarnołbistaPolish
- toutinegra-de-barretePortuguese
- Toutinegra-de-barrete-pretoPortuguese
- Silvie cu cap negruRomanian
- Черноголовая славкаRussian
- Славка-черноголовкаRussian
- ЧорноголовкаRusyn
- GahpervizarNorthern Sami
- penica čiernohlaváSlovak
- črnoglavkaSlovenian
- bilbilthi kapëziAlbanian
- Crnoglava grmušaSerbian
- Црноглава грмушаSerbian
- svarthättaSwedish
- Karabaş ÖtleğenTurkish
- kara başlı ötleğenTurkish
- кропив’янка чорноголоваUkrainian
- Кропив'янка чорноголоваUkrainian
- CapineroVenetian
- 黑頂林鶯Chinese
- 黑顶林莺Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Eurasian blackcap
Other species in the same genus Sylvia.
Garden warbler
Sylvia borin
Bush blackcap
Sylvia nigricapillus
Dohrn's warbler
Sylvia dohrni
African hill babbler
Sylvia abyssinica
Abyssinian catbird
Sylvia galinieri
Rwenzori hill babbler
Sylvia atriceps
CompareEurasian blackcap vs Garden warblerEurasian blackcap vs Bush blackcapEurasian blackcap vs Dohrn's warblerEurasian blackcap vs African hill babbler
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 the Eurasian blackcap?
The Eurasian blackcap is a bird in the family Sylviidae and order Passeriformes, part of the songbirds and other perching birds.
How much does a Eurasian blackcap weigh?
An adult Eurasian blackcap weighs 16.7 g, with the highest value reported by our sources at 19 g. Its wingspan is 23 cm.
What does the Eurasian blackcap eat?
The Eurasian blackcap is an omnivore.
What habitat does the Eurasian blackcap live in?
The Eurasian blackcap lives in woodland, and it is a migratory bird.
Is the Eurasian blackcap endangered?
No. The Eurasian blackcap is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a Eurasian blackcap live?
The Eurasian blackcap has a lifespan of 9.8 years, with the highest value reported by our sources at 13.83 years.
How many eggs does the Eurasian blackcap lay?
The Eurasian blackcap lays 4.5 eggs per clutch and has 2 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 11 days.
Who named the Eurasian blackcap?
The Eurasian blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
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).
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CreatureData. (2026). Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-blackcap
“Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-blackcap.
@misc{eurasian_blackcap_2026,
title = {Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eurasian-blackcap},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}