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Lesser Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

Curruca curruca

Identify the Lesser Whitethroat by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Lesser Whitethroat is a small, neat, grey-and-white warbler that breeds across temperate Europe and much of the western and central Palearctic. It keeps to dense shrubs and hedgerows and is most often revealed by its dry, rattling song. It is a strong migrant that travels south-east around the Mediterranean to winter in north-east Africa, Arabia and India.

Did you know?

  • Despite the name, it is not closely related to the Common Whitethroat.
  • Unlike many relatives, male and female look almost identical.

Voice

Song
Call

About the species

Identification

A small, greyish warbler with a grey back, paler underparts and a clear white throat. The head shows a dark, mask-like cheek patch. The call is a sharp “tack”, and the song a short, simple rattle, like shaking dry peas. Told from Common Whitethroat by its greyer tone, lack of rusty wing panel and darker mask.

Family

Sylviidae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

grey, white, brown, black

About the habitat

Dense, bushy habitats such as hedgerows, scrub, thickets, woodland edges, overgrown clearings, parks and gardens.

Diet

Mainly insects and other small invertebrates gleaned from foliage; berries and other soft fruit in late summer and autumn.

Behaviour

Skulking; forages in low to mid-level shrubs by gleaning and brief sallies. Males sing a quiet warble followed by a loud, rattling trill, often from concealed perches. It nests low in shrubs or brambles and lays a small clutch.

Sources

Photo: Ekytza, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Славка-завирушка, или славка-мельничек (Sylvia curruca).jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC918542, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/918542

Sound: Pascal Christe, XC580316, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/580316

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_whitethroat

See also