Where did the birds sleep last night?

Robins, blackbirds, dunnocks and great tits. You might assume that we know pretty much all there is to know about the birds we share our gardens with. But many mysteries do, in fact, remain, including, incredibly, where our favourite garden birds actually sleep (roost) during Britain’s long winter nights.

But now, a new study conducted by the University of Gloucestershire thinks it solved the nighttime secrets of the dunnocks and their friends. We probably don’t need to point this out to you, but during the UK, winter nights can seem pretty eternal, and woodland birds have to survive up to 16 hours of cold and darkness with no opportunity to feed. This means that selecting the right place to bed down for the night is crucial if they want to join in the dawn chorus the next day.