Identification: The Blackcap is unmistakeable thanks to the neat black cap of the male or the reddish brown cap of the female enlivening an otherwise dull grey body.

Habitat: Breeds in wooded areas with thick undergrowth. Winters in parks and gardens.

Distribution: A common summer visitor over most of Britain, although not in northern Scotland. Increasingly abundant as a winter visitor, mainly in the south and the Midlands.

Widespread and common throughout most of Europe, though only found in the south and west in winter.

Population: 580 000 territories estimated for Britain with another 40 000 in Ireland. Most abundant in the south and rare in Scottish Highlands. In the 1940's there were only aabout 20 reports per year of Blackcaps in winter but now there is a regular wintering population of maybe 3 000 birds, mostly in the south-west. These have been shown to come mainly from central Europe.

19-25 million breeding pairs of this ubiquitous bird across Europe.