Animalia Life
Sylvia atricapilla
SUBFAMILY
Sylviinae
TAXONOMY
Sylvia atricapilla Linnaeus, 1758.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Fauvette а tкte noire; German: Mцnchsgrasmьcke;
Spanish: Curraca Capirotada.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
5.5 in (14 cm); 0.5–0.7 oz (15–21 g). Medium-sized, with
plumage ranging from slate gray in adult males to olive or
brown in females and juveniles. Crown is distinctive (black in
adult males, rufous in females and juveniles). Wings are long
and pointed, with long primary projection. Bill is black, relatively
long, and pointed. Legs long.
DISTRIBUTION
Breeds from British Isles and southern Scandinavia throughout
Western and Central Europe to coastal northwest Africa,
Mediterranean, Near East, and west to central Russia and
northern Iran.
HABITAT
Forest with tall undergrowth, from riparian areas, parks and
gardens to boreal forest and alpine forest to treeline.
BEHAVIOR
Arboreal and very active. Males territorial, defending with
song, displays, and agonistic
BEHAVIOR
. Mimicry of other birds
is occasionally incorporated into song. Mixed partial migrant:
individuals in northern range migrate south, while individuals
in southern range (the Mediterranean area) are residents or
partial migrants.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds in trees and shrubs, gleaning insects and other arthropods
from leaves and branches. During migration and on wintering
grounds, fruits constitute a large part of the diet.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Pairs solitary and territorial, generally monogamous. Site-fidelity
is high in migratory populations. Courtship involves
construction, by the male, of several loose ‘cock nests’. The female
completes the final nest, a fine cup typically located in
dense vegetation of a tree or shrub above ground. Both parents
incubate 2-6 eggs (typically 5) for 10–16 days. Feeding young
in the nest (8–14 days) and after fledging (for about two weeks)
is also shared.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
A familiar songbird easily recognized by appearance and voice.
It is a model system for the study of the physiology and evolution
of bird migration, and for the study of avian diet and energetics,
especially as related to movement and seasonal food
availability.
Photo Gallery of - Blackcap
