Bluethroat

Luscinia svecica

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Ruiseñor pechiazul

33% of its open observations in the area are from December.

Photograph: James Peake, CC0, vía iNaturalist

Length: 14 cm
Weight: 16 g

Presence in the Strait

Common winter visitor to coastal wetlands and La Janda. Site fidelity is strong at wintering sites. Two sub-species can be seen: L. s. svecica, from the Scandinavian mountains, Turdidae Petirrrojo Europeo juv. ad. Ruiseñor Común Ruiseñor Pechiazul L. s. cyanecula L. s. svecica ad.E and L. s. cyanecula, from Continental Europe.

Identification

Greyish-brown upperparts, white supercilium and rusty-red bases to tail feathers. In summer plumage, males show a blue throat and breast with a white central spot in the case of the cyanecula, that may not be present on the Iberian population; or red central spot in the svecica. In winter, males of both subspecies are similar to females but with remains of blue on breast, poorly defined black collar and black malar stripe.

Movements

Postnuptial migration is more conspicuous with peaks in 2nd hf. October; prenuptial migration in March, although it is more of a gradual departure from the wintering areas.

Ring recoveries

Belgium (7), Germany (3), France (1), Holland (1) and Czech Republic (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

33 %

Peak in December. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 11 April 1989
Latest record: 8 January 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

13 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Belgium7
Germany3
France1
Netherlands1
Czech Republic1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Common Nightingale16.5–16.5 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
GBIF taxon key: 10498943

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: James Peake, CC0, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Bluethroat

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery