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 of the blue throat; see subspecies below for details. Despite the distinctive appearance of the males, recent genetic studies show only limited variation between the forms, and confirm that this is a single species. Moult begins in July after breeding and is completed in 40–45 days, before the birds migrate.

The male has a varied and very imitative song. Its call is a typical chat chack noise.

Taxonomy

The bluethroat was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla svecica. Linnaeus specified the type locality as "Europae alpinis" (Alpine Europe) but this was restricted to Sweden and Lapland by German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1910. The specific epithet svecica is Modern Latin meaning "Swedish". The bluethroat is now one of four species placed in the genus Luscinia that was introduced in 1817 by the English naturalist Thomas Forster.

Subspecies

thumb|Breeding distribution of the bluethroat subspecies

Eleven subspecies are currently accepted by IOC, They differ in the extent and intensity of the blue on the throat in the males, whether the blue contains a central spot or not, and if it does, the colour of the spot; they also differ significantly in their breeding habitat and ecology.

  • L. s. svecica <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> (red-spotted bluethroat) – breeds in subarctic shrub tundra from Scandinavia east to western Alaska, winters in southern Asia in India, Pakistan, Middle East. Throat blue with a red spot.
  • L. s. namnetum <small>Mayaud, 1934</small> – breeds in lowland reedbeds in western France, winters SW Europe and NW Africa. Small, and short-winged; plumage as L. s. cyanecula.
  • L. s. cyanecula <small>(Meisner, 1804)</small> (white-spotted bluethroat) – breeds in lowland reedbeds in central Europe from northern and eastern France northeast to the Baltic States, and southeast to Ukraine, winters in Africa. Throat blue with a white spot.
  • L. s. azuricollis <small>(Rafinesque, 1814)</small> – breeds northern Spain. Throat blue with no spot or only a small white spot.
  • L. s. volgae <small>(Kleinschmidt, 1907)</small> – breeds in lowland western Russia, winters in NE Africa and the Middle East. Intermediate between L. s. svecica, L. s. pallidogularis, and L. s. cyanecula, but usually with a red spot. Treated by Shirihai as a synonym of L. s. svecica.

thumb|Calling

<gallery>

File:Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) at Ichkeul NP.jpg|Male L. s. cyanecula wintering at Ichkeul, Tunisia

File:Luscinia svecica volgae.jpg|Male L. s. volgae, Elektrougli, Russia

File:Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) male Biebrzaski 2.jpg|Male L. s. cyanecula, Biebrzaski, Poland

File:Bluethroat AMSM6577.jpg|Bluethroat male calling at Jamnagar, India

Image:Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)- Female at Bharatpur I IMG 5484.jpg|Female at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India

Image:Bluethroatred.JPG|Red-spotted race

File:Luscinia svecica MWNH 1799.JPG|Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany

Image:Bluethroat.ogv|Riyadh, KSA 1992

</gallery>

References

  • Bluethroat videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
  • Ageing and sexing (PDF; 3.4 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
  • Information and pictures about the Bluethroat in the Netherlands
  • Metzmacher M. (2008) Les Grillons, muses de la Gorgebleue à miroir blanc (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) ? Parcs & Réserves, 63 : 17–19. (in French)