Wildlifeof India
Eurasian Blackcap
Warblers & Cisticolas
Photo: (c) Дмитрий Кошелев, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Sylvia atricapilla
Basic stats
Diet
Omnivore (SoIB guild); garden birds also take bread, fat and peanuts in winter
Habitat
Mature deciduous woodland; neat cup nest low in brambles or scrub
Range
Breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and north-western Africa
Clutch size
Typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, hatching in about 11 days
Size
About 13cm
The Eurasian blackcap is a common and widespread warbler about 13 cm long, with mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts; differences across the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. Its closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song (Wikipedia, general species account).
It breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and north-western Africa, preferring mature deciduous woodland. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud, high-pitched crescendo. The nest is a neat cup low in brambles or scrub, with typically four to six eggs, and the chicks fledge in 11–12 days and are cared for by both adults for some time afterwards. The cached account does not describe its Indian range. SoIB 2023 lists it as a bird of uncertain migratory status in non-specialised habitat, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).
Quick answers
- What does the Eurasian Blackcap eat?
- Omnivore (SoIB guild); garden birds also take bread, fat and peanuts in winter
- What habitat does the Eurasian Blackcap live in?
- Mature deciduous woodland; neat cup nest low in brambles or scrub
- Where is the Eurasian Blackcap found?
- Breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and north-western Africa
- How many eggs does the Eurasian Blackcap lay?
- Typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, hatching in about 11 days
- How big is the Eurasian Blackcap?
- About 13cm