bluethroat

Has prominent white supercilium and rufous tail sides in all plumages. Male has variable blue, black and rufous patterning to throat and breast (obscured by whitish fringes in fresh plumage). Female has black submoustachial stripe and band of black spotting across breast older females can have breast bands of blue and rufous, L.s. abbotti is form breeding in NW and nominate is one of at least two forms wintering in the region.

Summers in scrub along streams and lakes,Winters in scrub and tall grass.

Mostly insects. Diet in North America not well known. In Eurasia, feeds on many insects, especially beetles, caterpillars, ants, sawfly larvae, crane flies and other flies, and others. Also eats spiders, plus some snails and earthworms. Eats berries and a few seeds, perhaps mainly in fall.

Song is long and varied, with characteristic accelerating bell-like notes such as tree tree tree tree; call is a deep chack or chack-chack.

Summer visitor to NW Himalayas widespread in winter. The bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) 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 wet birch wood or bushy swamp in Europe and Asia with a foothold in western Alaska. It nests in tussocks or low in dense bushes. It winters in north Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The bluethroat is similar in size to the European robin at 13–14 cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive black tail with red side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. The male has an iridescent blue bib edged below with successive black white and rust coloured borders. Some races such as L. svecica svecica (red-spotted bluethroat) of northern Eurasia have a red spot in the centre of the blue bib. Others such as L. svecica cyanecula (white-spotted bluethroat) of southern and central Europe have a white spot in the centre of the blue bib. L. svecica magna in Turkey has no central spot. Females of all races usually have just a blackish crescent on an otherwise cream throat and breast. Newly fledged juveniles are freckled and spotted dark brown above. 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. Moults begins in July after breeding and is completed in 40–45 days before the birds migrate