Afghanistan (B), Albania (B), Algeria, Andorra (B), Angola, Armenia (B), Austria (B), Azerbaijan (B), Bahrain (P), Bangladesh, Belarus (B), Belgium (B), Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Botswana, Bulgaria (B) (P), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland) (B), Comoros, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus (B) (P), Czech Republic (B), Denmark (B) (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia (B), Ethiopia, Finland (B), France (B), Gambia, Georgia (B), Germany (B), Gibraltar, Greece (B) (P), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hungary (B), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (B) (P), Israel, Italy (B) (P), Jordan (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Latvia (B), Lebanon, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein (B), Lithuania (B), Luxembourg (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B), Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mauritania, Mayotte, Moldova [Republic of] (B), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal (B), Netherlands Antilles (B), Nigeria, Norway (B), Oman, Pakistan, Poland (B), Portugal (B), Qatar, Romania (B), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia (B), Senegal, Serbia (B), Sierra Leone, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (B), Somalia, South Africa, Spain (B), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden (B), Switzerland (B), Syrian Arab Republic (B), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Tunisia, Turkey (B), Turkmenistan (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B), United Arab Emirates (NB), United Kingdom (B), Uzbekistan (B), Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Faroe Islands, Gabon, Iceland, Ireland, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Sâo Tomé e Principe, Seychelles.
Breeds in west, central and southern Europe (southern from southern Finland) and northern Africa eastern to
Altai Mts (southern Siberia and extreme north-western China) and, in south, to northern Iran;
non-breeding in sub-Saharan Africa.
Population
Estimated population is 20,000,000 - 100,000,000 (2010).
Two proposed geographical subspecies, caucasicus (from Gilan, in northern Iran) and sibiricus (from Osnatschennaja, in Krasnoyarsk District of south-central Siberia), considered inseparable from birds in rest of species' range.
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
BirdLife International Species Factsheet