Eurasian Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla
Conservation Status
Least ConcernAves · Passeriformes · Sylviidae
About
The Eurasian blackcap is a bird usually known simply as the blackcap. It is a common and widespread typical 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.
Fun Fact
Eurasian blackcaps have evolved a new migration route in real time — a population that historically wintered in Spain now migrates northwest to Britain instead, attracted by garden bird feeders, and this shift has been documented within just 50 years.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Woodlands and tall scrub
Diet
Omnivore
Lifespan
2-5 years
Threats
- Deforestation
- Illegal Logging