Bluethroat

Common card · No. 477706

The bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in wet birch wood or bushy swamp in Europe and across the Palearctic with a foothold in western Alaska. It nests in tussocks or low in dense bushes. It winters in the Iberian Peninsula, the northern half of Africa, and in southern Asia (among others including the Indian subcontinent). The bluethroat, and similar small European flycatchers, are often called chats. The bluethroat is similar in size to the European robin at 13–14 cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive tail, brown with black outer corners and red basal side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. The males have a striking throat pattern, with a vivid glossy blue throat bordered below with (usually) a narrow black band (but see subspecies, below), and a broad brick-red band below that; additionally there is often a central spot, either red or white, in the middle...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0