Eurasian Blackcap

The Eurasian Blackcap is a medium-sized warbler (14 cm length), common and easily recognizable. Adults show sexual dimorphism. The adult male can be recognized by its black cap which clearly stands out against the light gray of the rest of the head. The female has a reddish-chestnut cap that is quite vivid but less conspicuous. Both of them tend to erect the feathers of their cap, which increases visibility. Overall, both sexes have gray plumage, but the gray is more marked and pure in males, particularly in the head and neck. With males, the mantle, wings and tail are subtly brown-olive, but this varies between individuals, their geographic location, the time of year and the state of plumage. The underside is whitish with some gray, mostly on the sides. The dark eye is surrounded by a whitish eyering. The bill is black and the legs are gray. The female differs from the male in her cap color, as mentioned earlier, but also with a less gray plumage, more clearly brownish-olive above and gray-beige to pale chamois underneath. The juvenile, whichever sex, looks like the female. But its plumage is even less gray, more brown, more uniform, and above all, its cap is a dull almost brown chestnut color. Its bill is basally whitened. Sex can only be determined after the post-juvenile molt, when the young male can be distinguished by its black feathers appearing in the red cap. There are 5 subspecies that only differ in slight size and color differences. The male of the subspecies heineken can be melanistic and have a black head, neck and upper chest.