The bird people get wild when others call these "hedge sparrows" (they're not closely related to the true sparrows but belong to the Accentors), but I grew up with that name and "dunnock" still sounds strange and unappealing (perhaps it reminds me too much of "dunny"?). The Latin binomial, Prunella modularis, hardly seems better — to me it sounds prim and disapproving, whereas I find them delightful little birds. This one was a resident at the house we rented in Christchurch during a brief visit in 2005.
[1 January 2005; Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L, ISO 800, 1/320 at f4]
All content © 2010 Pete McGregor
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My garden is heavily populated by these charming little birds and their offspring. They have a fascinating sex/family life, which I'm sure you know all about.
LBJs (Little Brown Jobs) is a useful name, although Prunella is nice for the girls, but the 'B' must not be interpreted as 'boring'.
Nearly spherical little chap.
RR, my mum loved them too, and I suspect they endear themselves to a substantial proportion of the people who pay attention to their gardens.
Aptly put, Zhoen :^D
We have a pair in our garden. I love watching them searching for their breakfast while I eat mine. I mostly notice them in winter and spring.
What lovely detail in this photograph. Was it a cold morning? The feathers look more ruffled than usual.
Lesley, I'm not sure why the feathers were more ruffled than usual (I agree — they're usually much sleeker). Perhaps it had just had a bath, or perhaps I photographed it just after it had shaken itself? I wouldn't have thought New Year's day would have been particularly cold, but it was New Zealand, and it was Christchurch, so who knows? ;^)
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