Luscinia svecica is a widespread breeder across much of northern Europe, and occurs more patchily farther south, with Europe accounting for less than a quarter of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is very large (>4,500,000 pairs), and was stable between 1970-1990. Although there were declines in a few countries during 1990-2000, the stronghold population in Russia probably remained stable, and trends were stable or increasing across most of its European range.
This bird inhabits a large part of Eurasia, from Western Europe to the Bering Street and from the Caucasus to the arctic shores of Siberia. It breeds in wet habitats with lush scattered bushes. Several distinct populations can be recognized in Europe. The nominate race svecica inhabits boreal and arctic regions, e.g. in Scandinavia, but has since a few decades also small isolated populations at high altitude in the Alps and Carpathians. It migrates to the south-east and is wintering in eastern sub-Saharan Africa. The race cyanecula inhabits temperate regions of Europe, from northern France to Ukraine. The race namnetum inhabits the coastal regions of France, from southern Bretagne to Aquitaine. It winters mainly in Portugal. A small population, included in cyanecula but in fact not yet described, inhabits the centre and north of Spain. The total population of the European Union (12 Member States) is estimated at 40.000 breeding pairs. It is strongly fluctuating, but on the long term it seems to be quite stable. However since 1970's cyanecula began to increase in numbers and to expand its range. It represents only 5% of the total European population, not including the huge Russian population

Breeds from arctic and boreal upper latitudes to temperate and steppe middle latitudes and mountain regions, continental and mainly cool. Patchiness in south of range suggests approach to relict status. Best adapted to regions intermediate between forest and open plains or valleys, such as wooded tundra with marshy glades among spruce, dwarf willows, and junipers, woods of birch, and shrubby wetlands, ascending from sea-level to high Scandinavian fjells. Also on flood plains and banks of rivers and lakes in dense but low woody vegetation, sometimes with reeds and rushes or willows and alders.

Breeding starts late April in Central Europe, late May in Scandinavia, June in Finland. Nest site is on ground in dense vegetation, in tussock, under bush, or in hollow in low bank. Nest is a cup of grass stems and leaves, with roots and moss, lined with hair and finer vegetation. Building by female only. 5-6 eggs, incubation 13-14 days, usually tended to by female but male helps occasionally.

Largely terrestrial invertebrates, mostly insects. In autumn, also some seeds and fruits. Feeds on ground, hopping, running briefly, and pausing, also takes items from low vegetation and will catch insects in the air. Searches for food by turning over leaves and soil. Adult catching caterpillar for its own consumption always shakes it to expel gut contents.

This species has a large global range; the total size has not yet been quantified, but the Extent of Occurrence in Africa and the Americas combined is estimated to be 4,280,000 km². It has a large global population estimated to be 500,000-5,000,000 individuals (Rich et al. 2003). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Mainly migratory, west Palearctic populations having extensive wintering area extending from Mediterranean basin south to northern Afrotropics, and east to Indian subcontinent. Northern race, nominate svecica (breeding Scandinavia east across northern Russia), winters patchily right across Mediterranean and over entire African winter range of the species; probably also in Indian subcontinent. South-west races, cyanecula (breeding Spain and central Europe) and namnetum (breeding western France), move between south and west, with concentration on autumn passage in southern Spain and western Portugal, majority then moving south into Africa. Return passage starts early, from late February or early March.

article number 1 Title
Age-Related Variation in Mate-Guarding Intensity in the Bluethroat (Luscinia s. svecica)
Author(s): Arild Johnsen, Jan T. Lifjeld & Christin Krokene
Abstract: Female extra-pair copulations (EPCs) have selected for male paternity guarding strategies in many bird species. In the bluethroat, Luscinia s. svecica, males guard their mates closely during the last ..[more]..
Source: Ethology 109, 147-158 (2003)
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article number 10 Title
Intraspecific variation in sperm length in two passerine species, the Bluethroat Luscinia svecica and the Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus.
Author(s): T. Laskemoen, O. Kleven, F. Fossøy & J.T. Lifjeld
Abstract: Sperm cells are highly diversified in birds and considerable research effort has focused on variation in sperm morphology between species. However, surprisingly little is known about intraspecific var..[more]..
Source: Ornis Fennica 84:131-139. 2007
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article number 11 Title
Variations in wing morphology among subspecies might reflect different migration distances in Bluethroat
Author(s): Arizaga, F. Campos, D. Alonso
Abstract: Long-distance migrants have a more pointed and concave wing than short-distance migrants. These pointed and concave wings are thought to minimize the energy-cost of flight. Detailed analyses of wing m..[more]..
Source: Ornis Fennica 83:162-169. 2006
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article number 12 Title
MIGRACIÓN DEL PECHIAZUL LUSCINIA SVECICA EN LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA
Author(s): M. HERNANDEZ et al
Abstract: Los actuales conocimientos sobre la migración del Pechiazul Luscinia svecica en Europa están basados principalmente en aves anilladas en países nórdicos..[more]..
Source: Ardeola 50(2), 2003, 259-263
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article number 13 Title
Recent divergence betweentwo morphologically different subspecies of bluethroat (Aves: Muscicapidae: Luscinia svecica)inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence variation
Author(s): Questiau S, Eybert M-C, Gaginskaya AR, Gielly L & Taberlet P
Abstract: Recent divergence betweentwo morphologically different subspecies of bluethroat (Aves: Muscicapidae: Luscinia svecica)inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence variation..[more]..
Source: Mol Ecol 7: 239-245
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article number 14 Title
Phenology,duration and site fidelity of wintering bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) at Eilat, Israel
Author(s): M. Markovets,R. Yosef
Abstract: Between 1984 and 2002,a total of 7643 Bluethroats were ringed and 1054 of these were recaptured at the International Birding and Research Center (IBRCE) in Eilat,Israel (29 33 N, 34 57 E)...[more]..
Source: Journal of Arid Environments 61 (2005) 93-100
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article number 15 Title
Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers reveal extra-pair parentage in a bird species: the bluethroat ( Luscinia svecica )
Author(s): S. QUESTIAU, M.C. EYBERT
Abstract: We tested the use of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to assess the frequency of extra-pair parentage in a bluethroat ( Luscinia svecica namnetum ) population. Thirty-six families tot..[more]..
Source: Molecular Ecology (1999) 8 , 1331-1339
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article number 16 Title
Does female plumage coloration signal parental quality? A male removal experiment with the bluethroat (Luscinia s. svecica)
Author(s): P.T. Smiseth and T. Amundsen
Abstract: Females in several sexually dimorphic species with conventional sex roles possess ornamental traits that resemble those found in males. The evolution of such traits, however, is still poorly understoo..[more]..
Source: Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2000) 47:205-212
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article number 17 Title
Avian Clock gene polymorphism: evidence for a latitudinal cline in allele frequencies
Author(s): A. JOHNSEN et al
Abstract: In comparison with most animal behaviours, circadian rhythms have a well-characterized molecular genetic basis. Detailed studies of circadian clock genes in 'model' organisms provide a foundation fo..[more]..
Source: Molecular Ecology (2007)
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article number 18 Title
Ultraviolet colour vision and ornamentation in bluethroats
Author(s): STAFFAN ANDERSSON AND TROND AMUNDSEN
Abstract: Many birds see in the ultraviolet (300^400 nm), but there is limited evidence for colour communication (signalling by spectral shape independently of brightness) in this `hidden' waveband. Such data a..[more]..
Source: Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (1997) 264, 1587-1591
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article number 19 Title
Verbreitung, Bestand und Habitatwahl des Blaukehlchens (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) in Niedersachsen 2001: Ergebnisse einer landesweiten Erfassung
Author(s): Thorsten Krüger
Abstract: Im Frühjahr 2001 wurde in Niedersachsen eine landesweite Bestandserfassung des Blaukehlchens durchgeführt, bei der neben der Inventarisierung möglichst aller Vorkommen und deren aktueller Bestandsgr..[more]..
Source: Vogelkdl. Ber. Niedersachs. 34: 1-21 (2002)
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article number 2 Title
Wintering and migration of Bluethroat Luscinia svecica in central Spain
Author(s): Ana Bermejo & Javier de la Puente
Abstract: Aims: Birds have been able to change their breeding and wintering areas by tracking variation in different conditions. In the last decades, the winter distribution of the Bluethroat had been changing...[more]..
Source: Ardeola 51(2), 2004, 285-296
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article number 20 Title
EL PLUMAJE DE LOS PECHIAZULES (Luscinia svecica) INVERNANTES EN LA PROVINCIA DE MÁLAGA
Author(s): José A. CORTÉS et al
Abstract: El Pechiazul (Luscinia svecica) es quizá el único paseriforme de nuestra región que presenta una gran variación en el plumaje, tanto entre subespecies como entre individuos de la misma población...[more]..
Source: REVISTA DE ANILLAMIENTO
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article number 21 Title
Nestling sex ratios in a population of Bluethroats Luscinia svecicainferred from AFLPT analysis
Author(s): Questiau, N. Escaravage, M.-C. Eybert and P. Taberlet
Abstract: We studied the sex ratio of Bluethroat Luscinia svecica broods using AFLPs. Our aim was to test whether there is a bias towards males that could be explained by sexual selection theories, or conversel..[more]..
Source: JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY 31: 8-14. Copenhagen 2000
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article number 3 Title
Recent evolutionary history of the bluethroat ( Luscinia svecica ) across Eurasia
Author(s): Robert M. Zink, Sergei V. Drovetski
Abstract: We analysed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 154 bluethroats (Luscinia svecica) sampled at 21 sites throughout much of their Eurasian range. A previously reported, single base-pair mtDNA diffe..[more]..
Source: Molecular Ecology (2003) 12 , 3069-3075
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article number 4 Title
Senior and junior nestlings in asynchronous bluethroat broods differ in their effectiveness of begging
Author(s): Per T. Smiseth and Trond Amundsen
Abstract: In accordance with theoretical models of begging as an honest signal, empirical studies have found that begging by nestlings reflects need and that parent birds respond to variation in begging activit..[more]..
Source: Evolutionary Ecology Research, 2002, 4: 1177-1189
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article number 5 Title
Rejection of cuckoo Cuculus canorus eggs in relation to female age in the bluethroat Luscinia svecica
Author(s): Amundsen, T., Brobakken, P.T., Moksnes, A. & Røskaft, E. (2002).
Abstract: The evolutionary equilibrium hypothesis explains the existence of both acceptors and rejecters of brood parasite eggs within a host population as resulting from a balance between the costs of acceptan..[more]..
Source: of Avian Biology, 33: 366-370.
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article number 6 Title
Seasonal and diurnal patterns of singing and song-flight activity in bluethroats (Luscinia svecica)
Author(s): Juha Merila and Jorma Sorjonen
Abstract: To assess the functions of male song in Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica svecica), seasonal and diurnal patterns of song and song-flight activity were analyzed by using data on individually marked birds. ..[more]..
Source: Auk: Vol. 111, No. 3, July-September, 1994
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article number 7 Title
Male characteristics and fertilisation success in bluethroats.
Author(s): Johnsen, A., Lifjeld, J.T., Andersson, S., Örnborg, J. & Amundsen, T. (2001).
Abstract: Extra-pair copulations (EPCs) can create or intensify sexual selection and, provided that fertilisation success is related to phenotypic traits, help explain sexual dimorphism in socially monogamous s..[more]..
Source: Behaviour, 138: 1371-1390
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article number 8 Title
Do weather conditions affect the frequency of extra-pair paternity in the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica svecica)?
Author(s): Arild Johnsen, Jan T. Lifjeld
Abstract: Ecological factors may affect levels of extra-pair paternity (EPP) by influencing the costs and benefits of extra-pair copulation. During a 10-year study of a Norwegian bluethroat population, the fre..[more]..
Source: Acta Zoologica Sinica 52(Supplement): 232-234, 2006
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article number 9 Title
Estimated effects of age and sex on the fat-free body mass of autumn migrating Bluethroats Luscinia svecica svecica.
Author(s): Ellegren H.
Abstract: If constant and size-specific values of the fat-free body mass are used for estimating the fat content of migrating birds, it is required that the fat-free body mass does not vary considerably between..[more]..
Source: ARDEA 80 (2): 255-259.
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