Field guide to the most commonly encountered mammals and birds

Here, we provide some basic information regarding commonly observed species (plus some others about which we have had queries).  

Feel free to contact us by email if you have any questions regarding species you have encountered on the site.

For more information about mammals, we recommend the Mammal Society's species hub, here. For birds, excellent resources are available from the RSPB (here) and the BTO (here).

 

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Blackcap (Eurasian)

(C) hedera.baltica (shared under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license)

 

Scientific Name: Sylvia atricapilla

Appearance: Fairly sturdy warbler. Plumage grey-brown above, greyish-white or pale olive-grey below. Plain greyish wings and tail. Crown glossy black in adult male, and brown in female and juvenile male.

Song: Fast, jumbled warbling. Phrases often begin with a low-amplitude, scratchy warble, accelerating and growing in volume to bright, clear notes. Singing bouts consist of similarly constructed phrases interspersed with regular gaps.

When heard: Mainly summer migrant. Males sing from April until the end of the breeding season in July or August.

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