Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilySylviidae (Sylviid Warblers and Allies)
- GenusSylvia
- SpeciesSylvia atricapilla (Blackcap)
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. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Blackcap sighting in Gauja National Park, based on 134 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Gauja National Park
Whitethroat
Sylvia communis
Lesser Whitethroat
Sylvia curruca
Garden Warbler
Sylvia borin
Great Tit
Parus major
Hooded Crow
Corvus cornix
Eurasian Magpie
Pica pica
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
Common Raven
Corvus corax
Blue Tit
Cyanistes caeruleus
Common Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita
European Greenfinch
Chloris chloris
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Blackcap in Gauja National Park?
About 24% of wildlife watchers report a Blackcap sighting in Gauja National Park, based on 134 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Blackcap in Gauja National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Blackcap in Gauja National Park in our monthly data.