Bluethroat (Luscinia) [XC675925]
by Nelson Concei\u00e7\u00e3o from Mortsel Cantincrode (near Mortsel), Antwerp, Flanders, Russian Federation (alarm call)
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) [XC840094]
by Nelson Concei\u00e7\u00e3o from Saint-Froult, Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Portugal (song, subsong)
Nest
A cup of plant material, concealed amongst thick ground vegetation, lined with hair.
Eggs (Guide)
5 - 6; smooth, slightly glossy, pale bluish-green, finely marked red-brown giving a rusty appearance.
Subspecies
Geographical variation marked, but considerable intergradation of subspecies. Subspecies saturatior sometimes merged with pallidigularis. Described subspecies tianshanica (Pamirs, Tien Shan) synonymized with pallidigularis.
The following 14 subspecies are recognised:
svecica (Linnaeus, 1758) - Scandinavia and northern Asia, and north-western North America (Alaska, extreme north-western Canada). Non-breeding southern Europe, and northern and northern tropical Africa, Arabia and southern and eastern Asia.
namnetum Mayaud, 1934 - South-western and central France. Non-breeding south-western Portugal and Morocco.
cyanecula (Meisner, 1804) - Netherlands, northern and eastern France and northern and central Spain east to Belarus and north-western Ukraine. Non-breeding Europe and northern and northern tropical Africa.
volgae (Kleinschmidt, O, 1907) - North-eastern Ukraine and central and eastern European Russia. Non-breeding north-eastern Africa and south-western Asia.
magna (Zarudny & Loudon, 1904) - Eastern Turkey, Caucasus area and north-western Iran. Non-breeding Arabia and north-eastern Africa.
pallidigularis (Zarudny, 1897) - Plains of Kazakhstan and Transcaspia east to Tien Shan and Pamirs. Non-breeding south-western and southern Asia.
saturatior (Sushkin, 1925) - Central Asian mountains. Non-breeding southern Asia.
abbotti (Richmond, 1896) - Northern Afghanistan and north-western Himalayas. Non-breeding northern India.
kobdensis (Tugarinov, 1929) - Western Mongolia and western China (Xinjiang). Non-breeding southern and south-eastern Asia.
przevalskii (Tugarinov, 1929) - Central China (central and eastern Qinghai to Nan Shan and east to Ala Shan and Ordos Plateau). Non-breeding eastern China.
azuricollis (Rafinesque, 1814) - Northern Spain.
pallidogularis (Zarudny, 1897) - South-western Siberia to Turkmenistan, Altai Mts. and upper Yenisey.
luristanica Ripley, 1952 - Armenia to south-western Iran; > to Iraq and the Sudan.
tianschanica ? - Pamir Mountains and Tien Shan Mountains.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7