1. A dunnock plays host to a young cuckoo.

2. This probably explains why male dunnocks copulate with such extraordinary frequency - about ten times a day.

3. The inconspicuous dunnock has the most variable mating system of any known bird.

4. The range of mating systems shown by the dunnock probably reflects the differences in the interests of males and females.

5. In Britain the main hosts are the reed warbler, meadow pipit, dunnock and pied wagtail.

6. In 1853, another Victorian gentleman, Reverend Frederick Morris, urged his parishioners to emulate the fidelity of a small hedge sparrow called the dunnock .

7. Had the congregation followed suit, there would have been chaos in the parish, " Davies pointed out in his book on the dunnock ."

8. So much for the reverend's exhortations to emulate the ways of the dunnock .

9. And Hareton has been cast out like an unfledged dunnock!