Alternative name: Common Whitethroat
- Sylvia communis
Identification
14 cm (5½ in); a large Sylvia Warbler
Pale legs and pale bill
Adult male
- Grey head
- White eye-ring
- White throat.
Female has brownish head with off-white throat
Confusion Species
Distribution
They breed throughout Europe and most of Asia (including China and India, also most of the Middle East.
Migratory, U.K. birds wintering south of the Sahara.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- S. c. communis :
- Western Europe and Scandinavia to North Africa; winters to northern Africa
- S. c. volgensis:
- S. c. icterops:
- Western Siberia to Iran and Asia Minor; winters to eastern Africa
- S. c. rubicola:
Habitat
Scrubland and hedgerows are favoured.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists almost entirely of insects and invertebrates.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Sylvia communis (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Aymí, R. and G. Gargallo (2020). Greater Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.grewhi1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Greater Whitethroat. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Greater_Whitethroat
External Links
