Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos Scientific name definitions

Although somewhat plain compared to many other songbirds, the nightingale has been recognized by some form of its modern name for more than 1,000 years. From the Old English nihtegala, derived from the words for “night” and “to sing,” the nightingale owes its name to its virtuosic nocturnal song. It has long held a privileged place in the Western imagination: from Virgil’s comparison of Orpheus to a nightingale in Georgics, to Keats’ famous reflection on mortality in Ode to a Nightingale, the species has been used as a symbol of love, death, and poetic inspiration since antiquity.

The Common Nightingale is often heard singing from concealed perches low in dense underbrush, especially (albeit not exclusively) after dark. Males sing both to attract females and defend their territories, with individual repertoires reported to include 180‒260 distinct song variations (1 Kunc, H., V. Amrhein, and M. Naguib (2005). Acoustic features of song categories and their possible implications for communication in the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Behaviour 142:1083–1097. Close ). Females do not sing but emit brief contact and alarm calls. The species’ habit of sticking assiduously to deep cover while singing contributes to its reputation for being often heard but seldom seen. Even experienced observers may struggle to locate a singing male only a few paces away in the underbrush.

The species has plain brown upperparts, pale underparts with a variable buffy wash, a rusty brown tail, pale eye-ring, and a yellow bill and gape. Once thought to be a thrush (Turdidae), molecular analysis has revealed that the Common Nightingale is in fact an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). Three subspecies are widely recognized: the nominate L. m. megarhynchos (Western Europe, North Africa, Türkiye), L. m. africana (Caucasus/adjacent areas), and L. m. golzii (Central Asia).

Fully migratory, the Common Nightingale breeds across Eurasia and North Africa and winters in sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia. Given only sparse records of individuals passing through North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, it seems likely that the species crosses the Mediterranean, Sahara, and Arabian Desert in a single, long-distance flight. Its diet is broadly insectivorous, but it sometimes supplements this with berries and seeds in late summer and early autumn.

Due to its extensive range and large total population, the Common Nightingale is listed as Least Concern. It may be declining in northern Europe and the United Kingdom due to modern agricultural developments and the increasing trend towards “tidy” gardens free of dense underbrush. As with many migratory species that summer in Europe, less is known about its nonbreeding ecology in its African wintering grounds, or about its breeding ecology in the eastern part of its summer distribution.