Bird Album
Eurasian Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758)
≈15 cmLength23 cmWingspan17 gWeight
Adults are mainly gray, with a black crown in the male and a reddish-brown crown in the female.
Busiest months: April–May · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult male has a black crown; female has a reddish-brown crown
- Adult male’s upperparts olive-gray
- Adult male’s underparts pale gray; throat and upper breast silvery-white
- Gray bill, legs and feet; legs long
Male, female and young
Juveniles resemble the female but have a slight reddish-brown tinge to the upperparts and more olive on the breast and flanks.
Voice
Often gives a hard “tac-tac”, like stones striking together.
Where and when it's recorded
Eurasian Blackcap has been recorded at 1,502 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 97 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Jerusalem Bird ObservatoryIsrael6,881 records
- International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel3,490 records
- Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom3,297 records
More places
- Txingudi – PlaiaundiSpain2,533 records
- Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom2,451 records
- Desembocadura del Guadalhorce – ÁreaSpain2,227 records
- Brent ReservoirUnited Kingdom2,194 records
- Paul do Cabo da PraiaPortugal2,180 records
- Beddington FarmlandsUnited Kingdom2,100 records
- Gazelle ValleyIsrael2,032 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
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.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Eurasian Blackcap?
The Eurasian Blackcap is about ≈15 cm long, with a wingspan of 23 cm and weighs around 17 g.
Where does the Eurasian Blackcap live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: central, western, southwestern. It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.
When is the best time to see the Eurasian Blackcap?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April and May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Eurasian Blackcap endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Eurasian Blackcap as Least Concern.
What does the Eurasian Blackcap eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Eurasian Blackcap in?
It belongs to the family Sylviid Babblers (Sylviidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈15 cm
- Wingspan
- 23 cm
- Weight
- 17 g
- Habitat
- Woodland
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 76 mm
- Tail
- 62 mm
- Bill
- 15 mm
- Tarsus
- 21 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: central, western, southwestern
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Sylviid Babblers Sylviidae
- Genus
- Sylvia
Other birds in the genus Sylvia
Garden WarblerSylvia borin
Dohrn's WarblerSylvia dohrni
Abyssinian CatbirdSylvia galinieri
Bush BlackcapSylvia nigricapillus
African Hill BabblerSylvia abyssinica
Rwenzori Hill BabblerSylvia atriceps
Barred WarblerCurruca nisoria
Layard's WarblerCurruca layardi
Banded ParisomaCurruca boehmi
Chestnut-vented WarblerCurruca subcoerulea
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Santiago Caballero Carrera. ↗
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