Flycatchers and chats · Perching birds
Thrush Nightingale
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Luscinia luscinia
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Voice
Song
Max Karlsson
Song
Jochem verweij
Song
Jochem verweij
How to recognize it
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Robin-sized; upperparts dark brown, no rufous tone
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Underparts paler grey-brown, breast mottled
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Dense wet thickets near water; usually low, close to ground
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Song of whistles and clicks; call low, abrupt “whit”
About the species
The thrush nightingale is a modest-looking singer that is easier to notice by voice and habit than by plumage. It stays tucked into dense cover, and when it does show itself, the upright tail and quick bows are often more telling than appearance.
Its song is loud and varied, built from whistles, trills, and clicks. The call is short and abrupt, and males may sing from evening into the quiet of the night, often from a good distance apart.
It favors damp woods, low river forests, alder thickets, and tangles of shrubs near water. It feeds mainly on insects, spiders, and worms, adds berries in autumn, and leaves for Africa south of the Sahara in winter.
Did you know?
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The phrase ends with a characteristic rattle
The thrush nightingale organizes its song around rhythm rather than melody, and every phrase ends with a brief percussive tambourine-like rattle that acts as a consistent structural close across the entire repertoire.
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Two hundred stylized phrases
The thrush nightingale's repertoire rivals the common nightingale's in size—up to 200 distinct phrase types—but unlike its western relative, each phrase type follows a consistent, stylized structure that is repeated rather than improvised upon.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Luscinia luscinia Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Thrush nightingale Encyclopedia article