Blackcap

(Sylvia atricapilla)

Alert Status: Green – 338% increase
 

Identifying Features: The Blackcap is a warbler with a distinctive black or red-brown cap (crown and forehead), and a little smaller than a house sparrow. The male has grey-brown upper parts, pale grey underparts, and a glossy black cap. The female is similar but has browner upperparts, buff underparts and a red-brown cap.
Average Length: 13 cm
Average Lifespan: 2 years
Average Wingspan: 20-23 cm
 

Beak type: Insects
 

Feeding:
Natural: Caterpillars, flies, spiders, fruit and berries
How to feed:  Bird tables, suet feeders
What to feed:   They will sometimes visit bird tables in the winter, and they may feed from suet bars, especially those impregnated with dried flies.
 

Nesting: The nest is a neat cup built by the female from vegetation and mud and is usually in a hedge, bush, or brambles, though they will use shelves in huts and other outbuildings.
 

Where to see: Blackcap are best looked for in woodland, parks and gardens with plenty of trees and shrubs. In winter will readily come into gardens.