Nightingale

The Nightingale’s rather ordinary appearance conceals a tremendous voice, which has been a favorite of birdwatchers for many centuries. The name nightingale tends to refer specifically to the common nightingale species of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Nightingale can also refer to the closely related thrush nightingale, or the entire nightingale genus, or a few unrelated songbird species like the nightingale-thrush. But unless otherwise indicated, this article will refer mostly to the common nightingale bird, also known as the rufous nightingale.

An Amazing Bird: 4 Nightingale Facts

• The name nightingale comes from the Old English term that’s been in use for some 1,400 years.
• Nightingale birds are associated with night songs, but in reality, only the unpaired males sing at night and then only in the breeding season.
• The common nightingale’s verbal repertoire consists of some 180 to 260 song variations. Older adult males have a 53% larger range than younger adults, but it’s not entirely clear why this is.
• Nightingale birds are the subject of many artistic works, including the John Keats poem “Ode to a Nightingale,” the Pyotr Tchaikovsky song “The Nightingale,” and the Igor Stravinsky composition “Song of the Nightingale.” The Latin narrative poem Metamorphoses by the writer Ovid featured a character transforming into one of these birds.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of the rufous or common nightingale is Luscinia megarhynchos. Luscinia is the Latin word for the nightingale, while megarhynchos is the combination of two Ancient Greek words: mega, meaning great, and rhunkhos, meaning bill. A second species, the thrush nightingale (also known as the sprosser), goes by the scientific name of Luscinia luscinia. The genus of Luscinia, which also includes the bluethroat and the white-bellied redstart, once belonged to the wider thrush family, Turdidae, but taxonomists later moved it to the family of Old World flycatchers known by the scientific name of Muscicapidae.

Habitat and Location

There are three recognized subspecies of the common nightingale, each with a different geographical distribution. The western nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos megarhynchos) resides in Western Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor for most of the year and then winters in sub-Saharan Africa. The Caucasian nightingale (L. m. africana) is endemic to a swath of territory between the Caucasus and Iran. During the winter, it travels to East Africa. Finally, the eastern nightingale (L. m. golzii) is endemic to Central Asia and also winters in East Africa. The other main species of the bird, the thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), is endemic to a large stretch of territory between Denmark, Ukraine, and Central Asia, and during the winter, it migrates to southern Africa. Both species prefer woodlands or shrublands, where they can hide from predators.

Nests

Nightingale birds construct nests in trees from twigs, dried leaves, and grass. Its favorite place to nest is the hazel tree.

Appearance and Behavior

This is a relatively small bird, measuring 7 inches long with a wingspan of about 8 to 10 inches. Males tend to be slightly larger than females on average, but sometimes they actually weigh less than females due to the higher metabolic rates and energy expenditure from singing. This bird has plain brown plumage with a lighter underside. It has a broad tail and black eyes with white rings around them. The beak is small, flat, and colored yellow.

These birds have no particular social organization to speak of. Instead, this bird maintains a specific territory throughout the non-winter seasons and then guards it aggressively from outside intruders. Fights can break out, particularly when two males are involved. But the most remarkable feature of these birds is the vast repertoire of songs with which to communicate. There appear to be two types of songs. Whistle calls are used for territorial defense and sexual selection. Non-whistle calls are used for all other types of communication.

The competition for breeding rights is fierce. Only the healthiest and most aggressive males that produce the best songs will end up securing a mate. Approximately half of all birds might not successfully breed at all. However, the song also imposes a high cost on the bird, both in terms of energy expenditure and the chances of being recognized by a predator.

Migration Timing and Pattern

These birds depart their home every winter for the warmer climes of Africa and then return in spring just in time for the breeding season. This timing is generally consistent every single year. However, climate change might be inducing the bird to return slightly earlier each year. Not much is known about the migration, but it appears to travel individually to its winter home.

Diet

The bird comes out during the day to search for food. Males that sing at night must build up greater reserves due to the amount of energy expended in song.

What does the nightingale eat?

These birds mainly consume adult insects and their larvae. It supplements this with berries and other fruits in the autumn season.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

These birds are currently threatened by predators and habitat loss. Despite these threats, both the common and thrush nightingale are considered to be of least concern by the IUCN Red List.

What eats the nightingale?

The tawny owl and other large birds are the main predators of the bird.

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

The common nightingale’s breeding season usually takes place around May and June of every year. The male attracts a mate by producing a whistle-like sound, which is very noticeable at night when few other birds make noise. The female is highly discriminatory and will seek out a mate with the best song. After finding a mate, the male will reduce the number of whistles and stop singing at night until the female lays its eggs.

Both parents guard the eggs against predators, but only the female will construct the nest and then incubate the eggs. Once they emerge from the eggs two weeks later, the newly hatched chicks are undeveloped and highly dependent on their parents for survival, but they gain their flight feathers after a brief 11 to 13 days. The speed of its development might be related to the timing of the migration season in the autumn.

The common nightingale has a relatively short lifespan of one to five years. Because it takes about a full year before the chicks will begin reproducing on their own, the bird only has a few opportunities to breed. The oldest recorded lifespan is eight years, but most fall victim to predators before they die of old age.

Population

The IUCN Red List estimates that there are 37.1 million to 55.8 million mature common or rufous nightingales in the wild and a lesser but still impressive 15 million to 24 million mature thrush nightingales. Population numbers may have fallen slightly from their peak. It is suggested that this may be caused by the loss of vegetation due to the introduction of non-native species like the roe deer. Alterations to wintering grounds might also play a role.