SEX! SEX! SEX!

OK, now I have your attention....

...I'm on a wee mission to 'capture'* the male and female of all the 15 or so bird species that visit our garden. The dunnock is one of most challenging partly because it is quite shy, rarely breaking the cover of the hedge and partly because the only way to tell the sexes apart is to note the aggressive behaviour of males in the mating season. Since this one is just quietly eating seed on the deck I have no idea which it is. And that is a pity, because the most interesting thing about this rather drab little bird is its SEX life - that got you interested again, huh?

To quote my RSPB book:

'Still waters run deep' the proverb says and the dunnock is a perfect example. Sober in colouring and demeanour, yet it has an enormously interesting sex life! A male may have a single mate, two or even three: a female may have two or three males; and sometimes several males are associated with several females. Because of these complications, it is a biological advantage to a male to ensure that he is the one to fertilise the eggs: to do this, before mating he uses his bill to stimulate the female to eject sperm from any previous mating.

Oh, and the other key fact about dunnock is that they are on the RSPB amber list of declining species. The numbers have been going up in the last couple of decades, but after a long period of decline. So, although they are nondescript and seem as common as muck, they need our support. You are welcome to eat on my deck anytime - you sexy thing, you.

* I do wish that I could find a better word for this - it sounds so aggressive - got any ideas?