Common nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos C. L. Brehm, 1831
The common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), also called Nightingale or Rufous nightingale, is a bird in the family Muscicapidae of the order Passeriformes, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 19.6 g, up to 22.1 g, and a wingspan of 24 cm.
Quick facts about the common nightingale
This migratory invertivore lives in woodland, has a generalist foraging lifestyle and a geographic range of 6,778,000 km². It lays 1 clutch per year of 4.78 eggs, incubated for 13.5 days, reaches sexual maturity at 1 year, and is listed as Least Concern, not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 19.6 g – 22.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 24 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 10.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5 – 4.78src 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 common nightingale?
Photos of the common nightingale
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common nightingale live?
Not recorded
What is the common nightingale?
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), is a small passerine bird which is known for its powerful and beautiful song, often described as one of the most beautiful sounds in nature. An Old World flycatcher, it belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. Its range partly overlaps with that of the more northerly thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), a closely related species with which hybrids have occurred.
From the Wikipedia article “Common nightingale” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_nightingale&oldid=1371092226), 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 common nightingale sound like?
Is the common nightingale endangered?
The common nightingale 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 common nightingale classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae
- genusLuscinia
- SpeciesLuscinia megarhynchos C. L. Brehm, 1831
Synonyms Currucu philomela, Daulias philomela, Erithacus megarhynchos, Erithacus megashynchos hafizi, Ficedula luscinia major, Luscinia aedon, Luscinia eximia, Luscinia hybrida, Luscinia major, Luscinia major, Luscinia megarhynchos corsa, Motacilla luscinia major, Motacilla philomela, Sylvia luscinia, Sylvia philomela
Other names and names in other languages (127)
- NightingaleEnglish
- Rufous nightingaleEnglish
- NagtegaalAfrikaans
- NachdìgalAlbanian
- عندليبArabic
- هزار شائعArabic
- عندليب بني محمرArabic
- ReisenyorAragonese
- ReiseñorAsturian
- Cənub bülbülüAzerbaijani
- СалавейBelarusian
- Южен славейBulgarian
- EostigBreton
- Eostig kuzhBreton
- RossinyolCatalan
- rossinyol comúCatalan
- ШăпчăкChuvash
- Анӑҫ шӑпчӑкӗChuvash
- slavík obecnýCzech
- EosWelsh
- EosiaidWelsh
- Sydlig NattergalDanish
- NachtigallGerman
- SyłojLower Sorbian
- ΑηδόνιGreek
- Κοινό ΑηδόνιGreek
- (Κοινό) ΑηδόνιGreek
- suda najtingaloEsperanto
- Ruiseñor comúnSpanish
- lõunaööbikEstonian
- UrretxindorBasque
- بلبلPersian
- بلبل معمولیPersian
- etelänsatakieliFinnish
- Su?urnáttargaliFaroese
- suðurnáttargaliFaroese
- Rossignol communFrench
- Rossignol philomèleFrench
- NaachtigalNorthern Frisian
- RusignűlFriulian
- GealWestern Frisian
- FiliméalaIrish
- spideagScottish Gaelic
- beòil-bhinnScottish Gaelic
- beul-binnScottish Gaelic
- SmiolachScottish Gaelic
- spideaganScottish Gaelic
- RousinolGalician
- Beeal bingManx
- Spittag oieManx
- Masakaragua'iGuarani
- RosinyòlHaitian Creole
- זמיר הירדןHebrew
- शाह बुलबुलHindi
- slavujCroatian
- SołobikUpper Sorbian
- fülemüleHungarian
- csalogányHungarian
- Հարավային ՍոխակArmenian
- Burung BulbulIndonesian
- NaktigaloIdo
- NæturgaliIcelandic
- UsignoloItalian
- サヨナキドリJapanese
- სამხრეთული ბულბულიGeorgian
- Оњтүстік бұлбұлыKazakh
- Оңтүстік бұлбұлыKazakh
- 나이팅게일Korean
- BilbilKurdish
- LusciniusLatin
- BilbilikosLadino
- NuechtegailchenLuxembourgish
- NuechtigailchenLuxembourgish
- NachtegoalLimburgish
- Roscignollld
- RossignoeuLombard
- vakarinė lakštingalaLithuanian
- rietumu lakstīgalaLatvian
- славејчеMacedonian
- RożinjolMaltese
- ЦёковErzya
- RussignuoloNeapolitan
- Sørlig nattergalNorwegian Bokmål
- NachtegaalDutch
- sørnattergalNorwegian
- Rossîngnonrm
- RossinhòlOccitan
- Orsigno filomèlePicard
- słowik rdzawyPolish
- ArsigneulPiedmontese
- rouxinol-comumPortuguese
- RouxinolPortuguese
- rouxinol-meridionalPortuguese
- RuysiñurQuechua
- LuschainaRomansh
- Chirikli-ratiakiRomany
- PrivighetoareRomanian
- Privighetoare roşcatăRomanian
- Privighetoare roșcatăRomanian
- Южный соловейRussian
- Западный соловейRussian
- Түүҥҥү чыычаахYakut
- RusignoluSicilian
- LulličuohtegielašNorthern Sami
- slávik obyčajnýSlovak
- Slávik krovinovýSlovak
- slavecSlovenian
- mali slavecSlovenian
- BilbiliAlbanian
- Mali slavujSerbian
- Мали славујSerbian
- Slavuj/СлавујSerbian
- ArrassanajoluSardinian
- NoachtegoalSaterland Frisian
- sydnäktergalSwedish
- Kurumbiza wa UlayaSwahili
- இராப்பாடிTamil
- БулбулTajik
- นกไนติงเกลธรรมดาThai
- RuwisenyorFilipino
- BülbülTurkish
- СоловейUkrainian
- соловейко західнийUkrainian
- 夜鶯Chinese
- 夜歌鴝Chinese
- 新疆歌鴝Chinese
- 新疆歌鸲Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common nightingale
Other species in the same genus Luscinia.
Bluethroat
Luscinia svecica
Thrush nightingale
Luscinia luscinia
White-bellied redstart
Luscinia phaenicuroides
Indian blue robin
Luscinia brunnea
Siberian Rubythroat
Luscinia calliope
Siberian blue robin
Luscinia cyane
CompareCommon nightingale vs BluethroatCommon nightingale vs Thrush nightingaleCommon nightingale vs White-bellied redstartCommon nightingale 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 common nightingale?
The common nightingale is a bird in the family Muscicapidae, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds in the order Passeriformes.
How heavy is the common nightingale?
An adult Common nightingale weighs 19.6 g, with the highest value reported by our sources at 22.1 g. Its wingspan is 24 cm.
What does the common nightingale eat?
The common nightingale is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the common nightingale endangered?
No. The common nightingale is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common nightingale live?
The common nightingale has a lifespan of 10.9 years.
How many eggs does the common nightingale lay?
The common nightingale lays 4.78 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 13.5 days.
Is the common nightingale migratory?
Yes, the common nightingale is migratory. Its habitat is woodland.
Who named the common nightingale?
The common nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos, was named by C. L. Brehm, 1831.
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). Common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-nightingale
“Common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-nightingale.
@misc{common_nightingale_2026,
title = {Common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-nightingale},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}