Scientific name: Prunella modularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Accentors
Field characters. 14.5 cm. An inconspicuous grey and brown bird. Upperparts dark brown with long black streaks, flanks streaked with rufous-brown. Head, neck, throat, breast and upper belly grey, centre of belly greyish-white. Two inconspicuous wing bars; no white in tail. Thin black bill distinguishes it from rather similar buntings, sparrows, etc. Usually moves around under bushes like a mouse, with a shuffling gait. Sings from top of a bush or tree. Always seen alone or in family groups, never in flocks.
Voice. Calls a loud 'see' and a more vibrating 'sisisisi' on migration. Simple song resembles Northern Wren's, but without vigour and trills.
Distribution. Common resident.
Habitat. Inhabits all kinds of dense vegetation on open soil, from undergrowth in open mixed or deciduous woods to swamps with low bushes, krummholz zone of montane forest, and small city gardens.
Food. Small seeds, but many insect taken in breeding season. Feeds almost exclusively on bare soil or bare rock surface.