Eurasian blackcap

Sylvia atricapilla

The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is a bird usually known simply as the blackcap.

Family: Sylviidae Order: passerines Conservation: Least Concern

About the Eurasian blackcap

The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is a bird usually known simply as the blackcap. It is a common and widespread warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences across the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song. The blackcap breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and its preferred habitat is mature deciduous woodland. The male holds a territory when br

Fun Facts About Eurasian blackcap

The nest is a neat cup, built low in brambles or scrub, and the clutch is typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, which hatch in about 11 days.
The chicks fledge in 11–12 days, but are cared for by both adults for some time after leaving the nest.
The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps.
The male holds a territory when breeding, which is defended against garden warblers as well as other blackcaps.
The blackcap breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and its preferred habitat is mature deciduous woodland.

Conservation Status

The Eurasian blackcap is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. This species is currently stable and not at significant risk of population decline.

View on IUCN Red List →

Taxonomy & Classification

Order	passerines
Family	Sylviidae
Genus	Sylvia
Species	Sylvia atricapilla

Range & Habitat