Thrush nightingale
Luscinia luscinia (Linnaeus, 1758)
The thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), also called the Thrush-nightingale, is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Muscicapidae in the order Passeriformes. It is a small, migratory bird of shrubland with an adult body mass of 23.8 g, and it is an invertivore at the carnivore trophic level.
Quick facts about the thrush nightingale
It lays 4.5 eggs per clutch with one clutch per year, the eggs are incubated for 13.5 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 364.6 days. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 6,890,000 km².
- Weight
- 23.8 g – 26.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 8.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5src 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
Photos of the thrush nightingale
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Where does the thrush nightingale live?
Not recorded
What is the thrush nightingale?
The thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), also known as the sprosser, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is a migratory species breeding in forests in Europe and the Palearctic and overwintering in Africa. An insectivore, it nests near the ground in dense undergrowth. Its distribution is more northerly than the very closely related common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), which it closely resembles in appearance. Hybrids between the two have occurred in areas where their ranges overlap.
The thrush nightingale is similar in size to the European robin. Sexes are similar, both being plain greyish-brown above and white and greyish-brown below. Its greyer tones, giving a cloudy appearance to the underside, and lack of the common nightingale's obvious rufous tail side patches are the clearest plumage differences from that species. It also has a similar but somewhat more solemn song than that of L. megarhynchos. The nightingales, and similar small European species, are often called chats.
From the Wikipedia article “Thrush nightingale” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thrush_nightingale&oldid=1360622673), 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 thrush nightingale sound like?
Is the thrush nightingale endangered?
The thrush 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 thrush nightingale classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae
- genusLuscinia
- SpeciesLuscinia luscinia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Curruca luscinia, Daulias luscinia, Erithacus luscinia, Ficedula luscinia, Luscinia aedon, Luscinia bohmi, Luscinia eximia, Luscinia hybrida, Luscinia media, Luscinia okenii, Luscinia peregrina, Luscinia philomela, Lusciola luscinia, Motacilla luscinia, Philomela luscinia, Philomela magna, Philomela major, Philomela meruloides, Sylvia luscinia
Other names and names in other languages (69)
- Thrush-nightingaleEnglish
- LysternagtegaalAfrikaans
- العندليبArabic
- عندليب السمنةArabic
- БулбулAvaric
- Усходні салавейBelarusian
- Салавей звычайныBelarusian
- Северен славейBulgarian
- Eostig-RusiaBreton
- rossinyol rusCatalan
- ШӹжвӹкMari
- Ахаль шӑпчӑкChuvash
- slavík tmavýCzech
- eos fraithWelsh
- Eosiaid BrithionWelsh
- nattergalDanish
- Nattergal Almindelig NattergalDanish
- SprosserGerman
- ΤσιχλαηδόνιGreek
- norda najtingaloEsperanto
- ruiseñor rusoSpanish
- ööbikEstonian
- بلبل خالدارPersian
- satakieliFinnish
- NáttargaliFaroese
- rossignol prognéFrench
- Filiméala smólaighIrish
- Lhon ny hoieScottish Gaelic
- זמיר מנומרHebrew
- mrki slavujCroatian
- nagy fülemüleHungarian
- Սոխակ սովորականArmenian
- HúmgaliIcelandic
- Usignolo maggioreItalian
- ヤブサヨナキドリJapanese
- UnnuariannguaqKalaallisut
- Кәдімгі бұлбұлKazakh
- بولبولی خاڵخاڵKurdish
- lakštingalaLithuanian
- rytinė lakštingalaLithuanian
- lakstīgalaLatvian
- шÿшпыкMari
- голем славејMacedonian
- noordse nachtegaalDutch
- Orsigno prognéPicard
- słowik szaryPolish
- rouxinol-russoPortuguese
- rouxinol-orientalPortuguese
- filomelaRomanian
- Privighetoare de zăvoiRomanian
- Privighetoarea de zăvoiRomanian
- СоловейRussian
- Восточный соловейRussian
- обыкновенный соловейRussian
- Выходный соловейRusyn
- ČuohtegielašNorthern Sami
- slávik veľkýSlovak
- veliki slavecSlovenian
- Veliki slavujSerbian
- Велики славујSerbian
- näktergalSwedish
- Ardıç bülbülüTurkish
- benekli bulbulTurkish
- benekli bülbülTurkish
- Соловейко східнийUkrainian
- Соловейко звичайнийUkrainian
- східний соловейкоUkrainian
- 欧歌鸲Chinese
- 歐歌鴝Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the thrush nightingale
Other species in the same genus Luscinia.
Common nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos
Bluethroat
Luscinia svecica
White-bellied redstart
Luscinia phaenicuroides
Indian blue robin
Luscinia brunnea
Siberian Rubythroat
Luscinia calliope
Siberian blue robin
Luscinia cyane
CompareThrush nightingale vs Common nightingaleThrush nightingale vs BluethroatThrush nightingale vs White-bellied redstartThrush 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 thrush nightingale?
The thrush nightingale is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, in the family Muscicapidae of the order Passeriformes.
How heavy is a thrush nightingale?
An adult thrush nightingale weighs 23.8 g, with values up to 26.4 g reported. It falls in the small size class.
What does the thrush nightingale eat?
The thrush nightingale is an invertivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.
What habitat does the thrush nightingale live in?
The thrush nightingale lives in shrubland, and it is a migratory bird.
Is the thrush nightingale endangered?
No. The thrush nightingale is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a thrush nightingale live?
The thrush nightingale has a lifespan of 8.9 years.
How many eggs does a thrush nightingale lay?
The thrush nightingale lays 4.5 eggs per clutch and has one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 13.5 days.
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). Thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/thrush-nightingale
“Thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/thrush-nightingale.
@misc{thrush_nightingale_2026,
title = {Thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/thrush-nightingale},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}