Common whitethroat

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Common whitethroat
Common Whitethroat.jpg
Song
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sylviidae
Genus: Curruca
Species:
C. communis
Binomial name
Curruca communis
(Latham, 1787)
SylviaCommunisIUCN2019-3.png
Range of C. communis
  Breeding
  Passage
  Non-breeding
Synonyms

Sylvia communis Latham, 1787
Sylvia cinerea Bechstein 1803 [2]

Contents

The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat (Curruca communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

Taxonomy

The English ornithologist John Latham described the common whitethroat in 1783 in his A General Synopsis of Birds but introduced the binomial name Sylvia communis in the supplement to this work which was published in 1787. [3] [4] The specific communis is Latin for "common". [5] The common whitethroat is now placed in the genus Curruca that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. [6] [7]

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Curruca, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related. [8] [9] A molecular phylogenetic study of the Sylviidae published in 2011 found that within the genus Curruca the common whitethroat and the lesser whitethroat are members of different clades and are thus not sister species. [10]

Four subspecies are recognised: [7]

Description

This is one of several Curruca species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

The whitethroat's song is fast and scratchy, with a scolding tone. The hoarse, slightly nasal, call sounds like wed-wed or woid-woid. The warning cry is long-pulled, rough tschehr which resembles that of the Dartford warbler.

Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany Sylvia communis MWNH 1749.JPG
Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
Female with chicks Sylvia communis 1 (Martin Mecnarowski).jpg
Female with chicks
Cuculus canorus canorus in a clutch of Sylvia communis - MHNT Cuculus canorus canorus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.150.38.jpg
Cuculus canorus canorus in a clutch of Sylvia communis - MHNT

Distribution and habitat

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

In Europe, western and eastern populations of common whitethroats have contrasting moulting and pre-migratory fueling strategies to capitalise on food supplies before departing their breeding and non-breeding grounds. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Typical warbler</span> Genus of birds

The typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden warbler</span> A small migratory passerine bird

The garden warbler is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white underparts; the sexes are similar and juveniles resemble the adults. Its two subspecies differ only slightly and interbreed where their ranges overlap. Due to its lack of distinguishing features, this species can be confused with a number of other unstreaked warblers. The garden warbler's rich melodic song is similar to that of the blackcap, its closest relative, which competes with it for territory when nesting in the same woodland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred warbler</span> Species of bird

The barred warbler is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardinian warbler</span> Species of bird

The Sardinian warbler is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region. Like most Curruca species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has a grey back, whitish underparts, black head, white throat and red eyes. Plumages are somewhat variable even in the same locality, with the intensity of a reddish hue on upper- and/or underside that varies from absent to pronounced. The female is mainly brown above and buff below, with a grey head. The Sardinian warbler's song is fast and rattling, and is very characteristic of the Mediterranean areas where this bird breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western subalpine warbler</span> Species of bird

The western subalpine warbler is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and north-western Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus warbler</span> Species of bird

The Cyprus warbler is a typical warbler which breeds only on Cyprus. This small passerine bird is a short-distance migrant, and winters in Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser whitethroat</span> Species of bird

The lesser whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartford warbler</span> Species of bird

The Dartford warbler is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is dull reddish-brown below except for the centre of the belly which has a dirty white patch. It has light speckles on the throat and a red eye-ring. The sexes are similar but the adult female is usually less grey above and paler below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balearic warbler</span> Species of bird

Balearic warbler is a typical warbler, genus Curruca. It is endemic to the Balearic Islands, apart from Menorca. It groups with the Marmora's warbler, Tristram's warbler and the Dartford warbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African desert warbler</span> Species of bird

The African desert warbler is a typical warbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian desert warbler</span> Species of bird

The Asian desert warbler is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of central and western Asia and the extreme east of Europe, and migrating to similar habitats in southwestern Asia and the far northeast of Africa in winter. Until recently it was considered conspecific with the African desert warbler, but is now given specific status. The two are still each other's closest living relatives, and their relationships to other typical warblers are not clear. They may be fairly close to the common whitethroat; particularly, female whitethroats look much like a richly coloured Asian desert warbler. But it seems that all these three taxa are fairly basal members of the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rüppell's warbler</span> Species of bird

Rüppell's warbler is a typical warbler of the genus Curruca. It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in northeast Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is occasionally cited as "Rueppell's warbler".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Orphean warbler</span> Species of bird

The western Orphean warbler is a typical warbler of the genus Curruca. This species occurs in summer around the Mediterranean, through western Europe and extending into northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a rare vagrant to northern and north-western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmora's warbler</span> Species of bird

Marmora's warbler is a typical warbler in the Sylviidae family. The specific sarda is a Latin feminine form for a person from Sardinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectacled warbler</span> Species of bird

The spectacled warbler is a species in the typical warbler genus, Curruca. The specific conspicillata is from Latin conspicillum, a place to look from, equivalent to "spectacled".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Orphean warbler</span> Species of bird

The eastern Orphean warbler is a typical warbler of the genus Curruca. This species occurs in summer around the Mediterranean, through the Balkans via Turkey, the Caucasus and surrounding regions to Central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern subalpine warbler</span> Species of bird

The eastern subalpine warbler is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Motacilla cantillans. The specific cantillans is Latin for "warbling" from canere, "to sing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menetries's warbler</span> Species of bird

Menetries's warbler or Ménétries's warbler is a small passerine bird of Southwest Asia belonging to the genus Curruca. The name of the species commemorates Édouard Ménétries, the French zoologist who described the species in 1832. It is closely related to the Sardinian warbler of the Mediterranean basin and is similar to it in appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabian warbler</span> Species of bird

The Arabian warbler, also known as Red Sea warbler or Blandford's warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Sylviidae. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Its natural habitat is dry savanna country where it is often found in patches of Acacia.

<i>Curruca</i> Genus of birds

Curruca is a genus of Sylviid warblers, best represented in Europe, Africa, and Asia. All of these species were formerly placed in the genus Sylvia.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2019) [amended version of 2017 assessment]. "Curruca communis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T22716910A155623300. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22716910A155623300.en . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  2. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 273–274.
  3. Latham, John (1783). A General Synopsis of Birds. Vol. 2, Part 1. London: Printed for Leigh and Sotheby. pp. 428–429.
  4. Latham, John (1787). Supplement to the General Synopsis of Birds. London: Printed for Leigh & Sotheby. p. 287.
  5. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  115, 376. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. Bechstein, Johann Matthäus (1802). Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland, oder, Kurze Beschreibung aller Vögel Deutschlands für Liebhaber dieses Theils der Naturgeschichte (in German). Leipzig: Carl Friedrich Enoch Richter. p. 165.
  7. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Sylviid babblers, parrotbills, white-eyes". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  8. Helbig, A. J. (2001): Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Sylvia. In: Shirihai, Hadoram: Sylvia warblers: 24–25 Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. ISBN   0-691-08833-0
  9. Dietzen, C.; Garcia-del-Rey, E.; Castro, G.D.; Wink, M. (2008). "Phylogenetic differentiation of Sylvia species (Aves: Passeriformes) of the Atlantic islands (Macaronesia) based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 95 (1): 157–174. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01005.x .
  10. Voelker, Gary; Light, Jessica E. (2011). "Palaeoclimatic events, dispersal and migratory losses along the Afro-European axis as drivers of biogeographic distribution in Sylvia warblers". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (163): 163. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-163 . PMC   3123607 . PMID   21672229.
  11. Remisiewicz, M.; Bernitz, Z.; Bernitz, H.; Burman, M.S.; Raijmakers, J.M.H.; Raijmakers, H.F.A.; Underhill, L.G.; Rostkowska, A.; Barshep, Y.; Soloviev, S.; Siwek, I. (2019). "Contrasting strategies for wing‐moult and pre‐migratory fuelling in western and eastern populations of Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis". Ibis. 161 (4): 824–838. doi:10.1111/ibi.12686. hdl: 2263/68189 .

Further reading