Nightingale
The Nightingale , also known as Rufous Nightingale and Common Nightingale, is a small
passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family
Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an
Old World flycatcher,
Muscicapidae. It, and similar small
European species, are often called chats.
It is a
migratory insectivorous species breeding in forest and scrub in
Europe and south-west
Asia. The distribution is more southerly than the very closely related
Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia.
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the bird. For other uses, see Nightingale .
The
Nightingale , also known as Rufous Nightingale and Common Nightingale, is a small
passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family
Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an
Old World flycatcher,
Muscicapidae. It, and similar small
European species, are often called chats.
It is a
migratory insectivorous species breeding in forest and scrub in
Europe and south-west
Asia. The distribution is more southerly than the very closely related
Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia. It nests low in dense bushes. It winters in southern
Africa.
The Nightingale is slightly larger than the
European Robin, at 15-16.5 cm length. It is plain brown above except for the reddish tail. It is buff to white below. Sexes are similar.
The male Nightingale is known for his singing, to the extent that human
singers are sometimes admiringly referred to as nightingales; the song is loud, with an impressive range of whistles, trills and gurgles. Although it also sings during the day, the Nightingale is unusual in singing late in the evening; its song is particularly noticeable at that time because few other birds are singing. This is why its name includes "night". Recent research has shown that the birds sing even more loudly in urban or near-urban environments, in order to overcome the background noise. The most characteristic feature of the song is a loud whistling crescendo, absent from the song of Thrush Nightingale. It has a frog-like alarm call.
The eastern races
L. m. hafizi and
L. m. africana have paler upperparts and a stronger face-pattern, including a pale
supercilium.
Culture
- The Nightingale is the national bird of Iran
Throughout history, Iran has been of great geostrategic [i] importance because of its centr ...
.
- In popular traditions, the Nightingale announces the coming of spring, and is a symbol of love.
- The French traditional song inspired Tchaikovsky
...
when composing his
Humoresque opus 10-2.
References
Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
- on the Internet Bird Collection
