Common Whitethroat
Sylvia communis
Also known as: Greater Whitethroat, Whitethroat
Habitat
Understory
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
15 g
About This Species
Listen for a scratchy, hurried warble delivered from the top of a hedge or bramble patch, often ending in a brief song-flight where the bird flutters up and drops back down. Favours scrubby field edges, hedgerows and coastal thickets rather than deep woodland. Breeding males are most vocal and visible from late spring through early summer, growing quieter once nesting is underway.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay back from any hedge or bramble clump showing repeated adult activity, since this usually signals a nest nearby, and give it a wide berth rather than pushing in for a photo.
- In the UK and much of Europe wild birds and their nests are protected by law, and intentionally disturbing breeding birds can be an offence, though exact protections vary by country.
- If a bird starts alarm-calling or repeatedly circles you, that is a sign to move away rather than linger.
LCAvesPasseriformesSylviidae
Seasonal Activity
2,031,064 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sylviidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Understory
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 15 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.