Hedge Sparrows: Prunellidae

Hedge sparrows are known to be widely distributed throughout the Palearctic region that includes the area from western Europe to Japan, in Asia north of the Himalayan mountains, and in Africa, north of the Sahara desert.

Hedge sparrows tend to live in the thick undergrowth of shrubs, and in alpine meadows rather than in the trees themselves. Habitats can vary slightly among the species.

The robin accentor can be found at high altitudes in central Asia, and prefers to live in dwarf rhododendrons and other scrub, or among the willows of damp meadows.

Accentors gather food by hunting or foraging on the ground, preferring invertebrates that crawl, particularly insects such as beetles, flies, aphids, ants, spiders, and worms. They feed primarily on seeds and berries in the winter and forage together in flocks.

Accentors have an impact on people primarily in regard to ecotourism and the economic benefits from visitors focused on following birds in their natural habitats.

The Yemen accentor has been listed as Near Threatened, in danger of becoming threatened with extinction. Due to grazing animals, in addition to human behavior, the shrubland habitat on which the bird relies has been degraded. Other species have also declined but are not considered at risk. During the 1980s, the dunnocks that breed in England declined, but are maintaining themselves against further loss into the twenty-first century.