adult male

adult male female European distribution male singing from treetop

Identification

The blue throat of a male is, of course, diagnostic. In summer, Scandinavian males have a red patch in the blue throat but in birds from elsewhere in Europe this patch is white. In females, the throat is mostly white, with no blue at all, but enclosed by a dark, blotchy band across the breast. The dark brown plumage with a white eyestripe and a white moustachial stripe recalls a mini-Redwing. The red patches at the sides of the tail are characteristic of Bluethroats of all ages, as is their furtive run-stop-and-flick behaviour.

Habitat

Breeds in marshy scrub around lakes and bogs. Winters mostly on saltmashes or around the edges of reedbeds.

Migration

A mainly migratory bird wintering in the southern Mediterranean south to the Afrotropics.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Bluethroat is classed as Scarce: broadly speaking, species that are covered in British Birds' annual review of scarce species (and forms of similar rarity).

Welney, Norfolk 04/06/2010	Bristol, Somerset 19/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010
Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010	Welney, Norfolk 20/06/2010

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Bluethroat breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Armenia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

http://www.avibirds.com/euhtml/Bluethroat.html   Avibirds: Bluethroat	Edit this link
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http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob11060.htm   BTO BirdFacts: Bluethroat	Edit this link
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