Bluethroat
Luscinia svecica (Linnaeus, 1758)
The bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the order Passeriformes and the family Muscicapidae. It is a small, migratory bird with an adult body mass of 17.3 g, ranging from 16.7 to 17.4 g, and a wingspan of 22 cm.
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Quick facts about the bluethroat
The bluethroat is an invertivore that lives in grassland habitat, and its geographic range covers 19,900,000 km². It lays clutches of 5.9 eggs, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 13.5 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 16.7 g – 17.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 13 cm – 14 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 22 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 11.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the bluethroat?
Photos of the bluethroat
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the bluethroat live?
Not recorded
What is the bluethroat?
The bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in wet birch wood or bushy swamp in Europe and across the Palearctic with a foothold in western Alaska. It nests in tussocks or low in dense bushes. It winters in the Iberian Peninsula, the northern half of Africa, and in southern Asia (among others including the Indian subcontinent). The bluethroat, and similar small European flycatchers, are often called chats.
The bluethroat is similar in size to the European robin at 13–14 cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive tail, brown with black outer corners and red basal side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. The males have a striking throat pattern, with a vivid glossy blue throat bordered below with (usually) a narrow black band (but see subspecies, below), and a broad brick-red band below that; additionally there is often a central spot, either red or white, in the middle of the blue throat; see subspecies below for details. Despite the distinctive appearance of the males, recent genetic studies show only limited variation between the forms, and confirm that this is a single species. Moult begins in July after breeding and is completed in 40–45 days, before the birds migrate.
The male has a varied and very imitative song. Its call is a typical chat chack noise.
From the Wikipedia article “Bluethroat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bluethroat&oldid=1377685698), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the bluethroat sound like?
Is the bluethroat endangered?
The bluethroat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the bluethroat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae
- genusLuscinia
- SpeciesLuscinia svecica (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Calliope suecioides, Curruca suecica, Cyanecula coerulecula, Cyanecula cyane, Cyanecula dichrosterna, Cyanecula leucocyana, Cyanecula obscura, Cyanecula obscura longirostris, Cyanecula obscura major, Cyanecula obscura minor, Cyanecula orientalis, Cyanecula suecica, Cyanecula suecioides, Cyanecula suecoides, Cyanecula svecica, Cyanecula wolfii, Cyaneula suecica, Cyanosylvia suecica, Cyanosylvia svecica, Cyanosylvia svecica, Cyanosylvia svecica kaschgariensis, Erithacus svecica, Erithacus svecicus, Erithacus svecius, Erythacus suecica, Ficedula suecica, Liscinia svecica weigoldi, Lusciola cyanecula orientalis, Motacilla coerulecula, Motacilla suecica, Motacilla svecica, Motacilla sveciea, Phaenicura cyanecula, Phenicura suecica, Phoenicura suecica, Ruticilla cyanecula, Saxicola suecica, Sylvia caeruligula, Sylvia coeruligula, Sylvia cyanea, Sylvia cyanecula, Sylvia suecica, Sylvia wolfii
Other names and names in other languages (97)
- BluethroatsEnglish
- هزار أزرق الزورArabic
- papuazulAsturian
- BülbülAzerbaijani
- Serə bülbülüAzerbaijani
- КралькаBelarusian
- СіняшыкаBelarusian
- Кралька (або сiняшыйка)Belarusian
- СиньогушкаBulgarian
- নীলগলা ফিদ্দাBangla
- BronnlazBreton
- Bronnlaz voutinBreton
- cotxa blavaCatalan
- КечӹгекMari
- Кӑвак пӗсехеChuvash
- Кăвак пĕсехеChuvash
- slavík modráčekCzech
- BronlasWelsh
- BronleisionWelsh
- BlåhalsDanish
- BlaukatelGerman
- BlaukehlchenGerman
- Blaukehliger SängerGerman
- BlaukropfGerman
- BlaukröpfelGerman
- CarlsvogelGerman
- SchildnachtigallGerman
- SpiegelvögelchenGerman
- WassernachtigallGerman
- WegfleckleinGerman
- ΓαλαζολαίμηςGreek
- BlugorĝuloEsperanto
- blugorĝa najtingaloEsperanto
- PechiazulSpanish
- Ruiseñor pechiazulSpanish
- sinirindEstonian
- Tundra-sinirindEstonian
- PapourdinBasque
- گلوآبیPersian
- sinirintaFinnish
- BlákrikiFaroese
- GorgebleueFrench
- Gorge-bleue à miroirFrench
- Gorgebleue à miroirFrench
- BläbükNorthern Frisian
- BlauboarstkeWestern Frisian
- GormphíbIrish
- CeileiricheScottish Gaelic
- PapoazulGalician
- Scoarnagh ghorrymManx
- כחול חזהHebrew
- כחול החזהHebrew
- kékbegyHungarian
- սոխակArmenian
- Կապտափող ՍոխակArmenian
- Սոխակ կապտափողArmenian
- BlábrystingurIcelandic
- PettazzurroItalian
- オガワコマドリJapanese
- ბულბულიGeorgian
- იისფერგულაGeorgian
- კურკურაGeorgian
- ცისფერგულაGeorgian
- БұлбұлKazakh
- АлабұлбұлKazakh
- Құрықылдақ торғайKazakh
- 흰눈썹울새Korean
- BlobrëschtchenLuxembourgish
- paprastoji mėlyngurklėLithuanian
- MėlyngurklėLithuanian
- zilrīklīteLatvian
- синогушкаMacedonian
- നീലകണ്ഠപ്പക്ഷിMalayalam
- शंकरMarathi
- blauwborstDutch
- blåstrupeNorwegian
- podróżniczekPolish
- pisco-de-peito-azulPortuguese
- Guşă vânătăRomanian
- Gușă albastrăRomanian
- ВаракушкаRussian
- GiellavealguNorthern Sami
- biellocizášNorthern Sami
- slávik modrákSlovak
- modri slavecSlovenian
- modra taščicaSlovenian
- ModrovoljkaSerbian
- МодровољкаSerbian
- blåhakeSwedish
- นกคอมรกตThai
- GökgerdanTurkish
- MavigerdanTurkish
- синьошийкаUkrainian
- 蓝点颏Chinese
- 蓝喉歌鸲Chinese
- 藍喉歌鴝Chinese
- 藍喉鴝〔藍喉歌鴝，藍點頦〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the bluethroat
Other species in the same genus Luscinia.
Common nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos
Thrush nightingale
Luscinia luscinia
White-bellied redstart
Luscinia phaenicuroides
Indian blue robin
Luscinia brunnea
Siberian Rubythroat
Luscinia calliope
Siberian blue robin
Luscinia cyane
CompareBluethroat vs Common nightingaleBluethroat vs Thrush nightingaleBluethroat vs White-bellied redstartBluethroat vs Indian blue robin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the bluethroat?
The bluethroat is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, in the family Muscicapidae of the order Passeriformes.
How much does a bluethroat weigh?
An adult Bluethroat weighs 17.3 g, with values from 16.7 to 17.4 g reported by sources. Its wingspan is 22 cm.
What does the bluethroat eat?
The bluethroat is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the bluethroat endangered?
No. The bluethroat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a bluethroat live?
The bluethroat has a lifespan of 11.4 years, with values up to 11.42 years reported by sources.
How many eggs does a bluethroat lay?
The bluethroat lays clutches of 5.9 eggs, one clutch per year, and the eggs are incubated for 13.5 days.
What habitat does the bluethroat live in?
The bluethroat lives in grassland habitat and is a migratory bird.
Who named the bluethroat?
The bluethroat, Luscinia svecica, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bluethroat
“Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bluethroat.
@misc{bluethroat_2026,
title = {Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bluethroat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}