Eurasian Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla
Often called the 'Northern Nightingale,' this bird has recently evolved new migration routes to winter in the UK to take advantage of garden bird feeders.
- Scientific name
- Sylvia atricapilla
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Sylviidae › Sylvia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous and mixed forests with dense undergrowth, parks, and mature gardens.
- Diet
- Primarily insects during the breeding season; shifts to berries and fruits in autumn and winter.
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
- Size
- 13-15 cm length, 20-23 cm wingspan
- Lifespan
- 2 to 5 years in the wild
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss, climate change affecting migration timing, and predation by domestic cats.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. Maintain a respectful distance to observe its natural behavior. If you find a grounded fledgling, leave it be unless it is in immediate danger; if an adult bird is visibly injured, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator.
The Eurasian blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla ) usually known simply as the blackcap , is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between 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...
Photo: Juan Emilio, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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