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Bluethroat

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Bluethroat
Male Luscinia svecica svecica, Oppdal, Norway
Song recorded in Chukotka, Russia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Luscinia
Species:
L. svecica
Binomial name
Luscinia svecica
Distribution of the bluethroat (orange: breeding range; blue: non-breeding range)
Synonyms
  • Motacilla svecica Linnaeus, 1758
  • Cyanecula svecica

The bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher, in the family Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called chats.

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 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.[2] Moult begins in July after breeding and is completed in 40–45 days, before the birds migrate.[3]

The male has a varied and very imitative song.[4] Its call is a typical chat chack noise.

Taxonomy

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The generic placement of the bluethroat is disputed; IOC includes it with the nightingales in the genus Luscinia,[5] while IUCN places it in its own segregate genus Cyanecula.[1]

Subspecies

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Breeding distribution of the bluethroat subspecies

Eleven subspecies are currently accepted by IOC,[5] but only seven by Shirihai.[6] 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.[6][7]

  • L. s. svecica (Linnaeus, 1758) (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 Mayaud, 1934 – 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 (Meisner, 1804) (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 (Rafinesque, 1814) – breeds northern Spain. Throat blue with no spot or only a small white spot.
  • L. s. volgae (O. Kleinschmidt, 1907) – 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.[6]
  • L. s. magna (Zarudny & Loudon, 1904) (syn. L. s. luristanica Ripley, 1952[6]) – breeds in mountains in eastern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, winters in NE Africa and the Middle East. Throat blue with no spot, and no black band between the blue and the broad red band. The largest subspecies, also with a stronger bill.
  • L. s. pallidogularis (Zarudny, 1897) – breeds in lowland southeastern Russia and northern Kazakhstan east to the Tien Shan, winters in southern Asia. Much as L. s. svecica but blue slightly paler, and red spot often slightly paler rufous.
  • L. s. abbotti (Richmond, 1896) – breeds Afghanistan to NW Himalaya, winters NW India. Dark, blue throat with a small red (or occasionally white) spot; bill long and slender.
  • L. s. saturatior (Sushkin, 1925) – breeds southern Siberia, northern Mongolia. Similar to L. s. svecica, and treated by Shirihai as a synonym of it.[6]
  • L. s. kobdensis (Tugarinov, 1929) – breeds western Mongolia, western China. Similar to L. s. pallidogularis, and treated by Shirihai as a synonym of it.[6]
  • L. s. przevalskii (Tugarinov, 1929) – breeds central China. Similar to L. s. pallidogularis, and treated by Shirihai as a synonym of it.[6]

The male plumage is brightest in spring and summer; after the summer moult, the fresh new feathers have pale tips which obscure the throat pattern. These tips then abrade in late winter and early spring to reveal the brigher bases of the feathers.[6] Females of all subspecies usually have just a blackish crescent and very limited blue on an otherwise cream throat and breast, though older individuals can develop more strongly male-like plumage.[6] They are not currently known to be distinguishable to subspecies on plumage, except for individuals with the most male-like plumage (females of the small L. s. namnetum and large L. s. magna can be identified on careful measurement).[6] Newly fledged juveniles are freckled and spotted dark brown above and below for a few weeks after fledging, then moulting to first-winter plumage, in which both sexes resemble adult females (and like them, are not identifiable to subspecies).[6][7]

A disjunct population of L. s. svecica also breeds at high altitudes in the northern Carpathian Mountains in the Czech Republic, altitudinally and ecologically separated from L. s. cyanecula at low levels in the same area; these birds migrate to India in winter like other L. s. svecica, not to Africa as L. s. cyanecula.[6][8]

Etymology

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Calling

The genus name Luscinia is Latin for the common nightingale. The specific epithet svecica is from Neo-Latin Suecicus meaning "Swedish", from where Linnaeus described the species. The alternative genus name is from Greek cyanus, dark blue, plus the bird genus name Sylvia.[9]

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References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International. (2019). "Cyanecula svecica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22709707A137567006. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22709707A137567006.en. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  2. ^ Zink RM, RM; Drovetski SV; Questiau S; Fadeev IV; Nesterov EV; Westberg MC; Rohwer S. (2003). "Recent evolutionary history of the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) across Eurasia" (PDF). Molecular Ecology. 12 (11): 3069–75. Bibcode:2003MolEc..12.3069Z. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.01981.x. PMID 14629386. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-04-04.
  3. ^ RSPB Handbook of British Birds (2014). UK ISBN 978-1-4729-0647-2.
  4. ^ Metzmacher M. (2008) Les Grillons, muses de la Gorgebleue à miroir blanc (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) ? Parcs & Réserves, 63 : 17–19.
  5. ^ a b "Chats, Old World flycatchers – IOC World Bird List". IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2. 2024-08-17. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Shirihai, Hadoram; Svensson, Lars (2019). Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds. volume 1: Passerines: Larks to Warblers. London Oxford New York New Delhi Sydney: Helm. p. 243–247. ISBN 978-1-4729-3757-5.
  7. ^ a b Svensson, Lars; Mullarney, Killian; Zetterstroem, Dan (2023-03-16). Collins Bird Guide. William Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-854746-2.
  8. ^ Lislevand, Terje; Chutný, Bohumír; Byrkjedal, Ingvar; Pavel, Václav; Briedis, Martins; Adamik, Peter; Hahn, Steffen (2015-10-02). "Red-spotted Bluethroats Luscinia s. svecica migrate along the Indo-European flyway: a geolocator study". Bird Study. 62 (4): 508–515. doi:10.1080/00063657.2015.1077781. ISSN 0006-3657. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
  9. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 233, 375. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
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