Hello Everyone and Dunnock information needed (1 Viewer)

[teddysand]

I came across this forum because I was intrigued by the close "companionship" of my resident dunnock and a pair of blackbirds. I feed the birds in winter and have noticed that the dunnock is the only bird the blackbirds will tolerate. Indeed the male blackbird chases off the female blackbird sometimes but never the dunnock. When the blackbird comes to feed, the dunnock arrives too and vice versa. The observation of a blackbird feeding dunnock chicks sounds odd, but I have found a reference to the same behaviour from 1968. see:
www.britishbirds.co.uk/search?model=pdf&id=4429
It's a pdf and worth a read. The author kept a record of the visits. The feeding was reciprocal between blackbird and dunnock families. Any ideas? Do the blackbirds mistake the dunnock for a blackbird chick?

Wow I have the exact same thing in my garden. One dunnock stays in with the chicks whilst the other dunnock and the blackbird looking for food together. They come back the dunnock leaves the nest and the blackbird feeds the chicks with the other dunnock. Only the blackbird carries the food, lots of worms. They then both leave and the other dunnock comes back. Not seen anything like it. The blackbird even takes out the poo sacks. The blackbirds mate came to have a look then went to build a nest in the bush next door. It’s been going on for a while now