Editing Bluethroat

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica svecica) male Oppdal.jpg 
| image_caption = Male ''Luscinia svecica svecica'', Oppdal, Norway
| image2 = Luscinia svecica.ogg
| image2_caption = Song recorded in Chukotka, Russia
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="IUCN">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2019 |title=''Cyanecula svecica'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T22709707A137567006 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22709707A137567006.en |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Luscinia
| species = svecica
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = Luscinia svecica map.svg
| range_map_caption = Distribution of the bluethroat (orange: breeding range; blue: non-breeding range)
| synonyms = *''Motacilla svecica'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Cyanecula svecica''
}}

The '''bluethroat'''  ('''''Luscinia svecica''''') is a small passerine [[bird]] that was formerly classed as a member of the [[Thrush (bird)|thrush]] family Turdidae, but is now known to be an [[Old World flycatcher]], in the family Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called [[chat (bird)|chat]]s.

It is a [[bird migration|migratory]] insectivorous species breeding in wet [[birch]] wood or bushy swamp in Europe and across the [[Palearctic]] with a foothold in western [[Alaska]]. It nests in tussocks or low in dense bushes. It winters in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], the northern half of Africa, and in southern Asia (among others including the [[Indian subcontinent]]).

The bluethroat is similar in size to the [[European robin]] at 13–14&nbsp;cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive tail, brown with black outer corners and red basal side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. The males have a striking throat pattern, with a vivid glossy blue throat bordered below with (usually) a narrow black band (but see subspecies, below), and a broad brick-red band below that; additionally there is often a central spot, either red or white, in the middle of the blue throat; see subspecies below for details. Despite the distinctive appearance of the males, recent genetic studies show only limited variation between the forms, and confirm that this is a single species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zink RM |author2=Drovetski SV |author3=Questiau S |author4=Fadeev IV |author5=Nesterov EV |author6=Westberg MC |author7=Rohwer S. |year=2003 |title=Recent evolutionary history of the bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') across Eurasia. |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=12 |issue=11 |pages=3069–75 |url=http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/faculty/ZinkRobert/Recentevolutionary.pdf |doi=10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.01981.x |pmid=14629386 |first1=RM |bibcode=2003MolEc..12.3069Z |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404052745/http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/faculty/ZinkRobert/Recentevolutionary.pdf |archive-date=2005-04-04 }}</ref> Moult begins in July after breeding and is completed in 40–45 days, before the birds migrate.<ref>RSPB Handbook of British Birds (2014). UK {{ISBN|978-1-4729-0647-2}}.</ref>

The male has a varied and very imitative song.<ref>Metzmacher M. (2008) Les Grillons, muses de la Gorgebleue à miroir blanc (''Luscinia svecica cyanecula'') ? ''Parcs & Réserves'', 63 : 17–19.</ref> Its call is a typical chat ''chack'' noise.

==Taxonomy==
The bluethroat was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Motacilla svecica''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=187 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727096 }}</ref> Linnaeus specified the [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] as "''Europae alpinis''" (Alpine Europe) but this was restricted to Sweden and Lapland by German ornithologist [[Ernst Hartert]] in 1910.<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Paynter | editor2-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1964 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=10 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology  | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=42 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14486231 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | last=Hartert | first=Ernst | author-link=Ernst Hartert | year=1910 | title=Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna | volume=1 | language=German | location=Berlin | publisher=R. Friedländer und Sohn | page=745 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14030562 }} Published in sections. For the dates see: {{ cite book | last1=Dickinson | first1=E.C. | author1-link=Edward C. Dickinson | last2=Overstreet | first2=L.K. | last3=Dowsett | first3=R.J. | last4=Bruce | first4=M.D. | year=2011 | title=Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers | location=Northampton, UK | publisher=Aves Press | isbn=978-0-9568611-1-5 | pages=106-107 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267763194 | ref=none }}</ref> The specific epithet ''svecica'' is [[Modern Latin]] meaning "Swedish".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=svecica | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=svecica | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=23 February 2025 }}</ref> The bluethroat is now one of four species placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Luscinia]]'' that was introduced in 1817 by the English naturalist [[Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster|Thomas Forster]].<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Chats, Old World flycatchers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/chats/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>

===Subspecies===
[[File:Luscinia svecica distribution.png|thumb|Breeding distribution of the bluethroat subspecies]]
Eleven subspecies are currently accepted by IOC,<ref name=ioc/> but only seven by Shirihai.<ref name="Shirihai">{{cite book | last=Shirihai | first=Hadoram | last2=Svensson | first2=Lars | title=Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds. volume 1: Passerines: Larks to Warblers | publisher=Helm | publication-place=London Oxford New York New Delhi Sydney | date=2019 | isbn=978-1-4729-3757-5 | page=243–247}}</ref> They differ in the extent and intensity of the blue on the throat in the males, whether the blue contains a central spot or not, and if it does, the colour of the spot; they also differ significantly in their breeding habitat and ecology.<ref name="Shirihai"/><ref name="Collins">{{cite book | last=Svensson | first=Lars | last2=Mullarney | first2=Killian | last3=Zetterstroem | first3=Dan | title=Collins Bird Guide | publisher=William Collins | date=2023-03-16 | isbn=978-0-00-854746-2 | page=}}</ref>
*''L. s. svecica'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)</small> ('''red-spotted bluethroat''') – breeds in subarctic shrub tundra from Scandinavia east to western Alaska, winters in southern Asia in India, Pakistan, Middle East. Throat blue with a ''red'' spot.
*''L. s. namnetum'' <small>[[Noël Mayaud|Mayaud]], 1934</small> – breeds in lowland reedbeds in western France, winters SW Europe and NW Africa. Small, and short-winged; plumage as ''L. s. cyanecula''.
*''L. s. cyanecula'' <small>(Meisner, 1804)</small> ('''white-spotted bluethroat''') – breeds in lowland reedbeds in central Europe from northern and eastern France northeast to the Baltic States, and southeast to Ukraine, winters in Africa. Throat blue with a ''white'' spot.
*''L. s. azuricollis'' <small>([[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1814)</small> – breeds northern Spain. Throat blue with ''no'' spot or only a ''small white'' spot.
*''L. s. volgae'' <small>([[Otto Kleinschmidt|Kleinschmidt]], 1907)</small> – breeds in lowland western Russia, winters in NE Africa and the Middle East. Intermediate between ''L. s. svecica'', ''L. s. pallidogularis'', and ''L. s. cyanecula'', but usually with a red spot. Treated by Shirihai as a synonym of ''L. s. svecica''.<ref name="Shirihai"/>
*''L. s. magna'' <small>([[Nikolai Alekseyvich Zarudny|Zarudny]] & [[Harald von Loudon|Loudon]], 1904)</small> (syn. ''L. s. luristanica'' <small>Ripley, 1952</small><ref name="Shirihai"/>) – breeds in mountains in eastern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, winters in NE Africa and the Middle East. Throat blue with ''no'' spot, and no black band between the blue and the broad red band. The largest subspecies, also with a stronger bill.
*''L. s. pallidogularis'' <small>(Zarudny, 1897)</small> – breeds in lowland southeastern Russia and northern Kazakhstan east to the Tien Shan, winters in southern Asia. Much as ''L. s. svecica'' but blue slightly paler, and red spot often slightly paler rufous.
*''L. s. abbotti'' <small>([[Charles Wallace Richmond|Richmond]], 1896)</small> – breeds Afghanistan to NW Himalaya, winters NW India. Dark, blue throat with a small red (or occasionally white) spot; bill long and slender.
*''L. s. saturatior'' <small>([[Petr Sushkin|Sushkin]], 1925)</small> – breeds southern Siberia, northern Mongolia. Similar to ''L. s. svecica'', and treated by Shirihai as a synonym of it.<ref name="Shirihai"/>
*''L. s. kobdensis'' <small>([[Arkady Tugarinov|Tugarinov]], 1929)</small> – breeds western Mongolia, western China. Similar to ''L. s. pallidogularis'', and treated by Shirihai as a synonym of it.<ref name="Shirihai"/>
*''L. s. przevalskii'' <small>(Tugarinov, 1929)</small> – breeds central China. Similar to ''L. s. pallidogularis'', and treated by Shirihai as a synonym of it.<ref name="Shirihai"/>

==Description==
The male plumage is brightest in spring and summer; after the summer moult, the fresh new feathers have pale tips which obscure the throat pattern. These tips then abrade in late winter and early spring to reveal the brigher bases of the feathers.<ref name="Shirihai"/> Females of all subspecies usually have just a blackish crescent and very limited blue on an otherwise cream throat and breast, though older individuals can develop more strongly male-like plumage.<ref name="Shirihai"/> They are not currently known to be distinguishable to subspecies on plumage, except for individuals with the most male-like plumage (females of the small ''L. s. namnetum'' and large ''L. s. magna'' can be identified on careful measurement).<ref name="Shirihai"/> Newly fledged juveniles are freckled and spotted dark brown above and below for a few weeks after fledging, then moulting to first-winter plumage, in which both sexes resemble adult females (and like them, are not identifiable to subspecies).<ref name="Shirihai"/><ref name="Collins"/>

==Distribution and habitat==
A disjunct population of ''L. s. svecica'' also breeds at high altitudes in the northern Carpathian Mountains in the Czech Republic, altitudinally and ecologically separated from ''L. s. cyanecula'' at low levels in the same area; these birds migrate to India in winter like other ''L. s. svecica'', not to Africa as ''L. s. cyanecula''.<ref name="Shirihai"/><ref>{{cite journal | last=Lislevand | first=Terje | last2=Chutný | first2=Bohumír | last3=Byrkjedal | first3=Ingvar | last4=Pavel | first4=Václav | last5=Briedis | first5=Martins | last6=Adamik | first6=Peter | last7=Hahn | first7=Steffen | title=Red-spotted Bluethroats Luscinia s. svecica migrate along the Indo-European flyway: a geolocator study | journal=Bird Study | volume=62 | issue=4 | date=2015-10-02 | issn=0006-3657 | doi=10.1080/00063657.2015.1077781 | doi-access=free | pages=508–515 | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00063657.2015.1077781?needAccess=true&role=button | access-date=2025-01-01| hdl=1956/10758 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:Blue throat at Rajkot.jpg|thumb|Calling]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) at Ichkeul NP.jpg|Male ''L. s. cyanecula'' wintering at Ichkeul, Tunisia
File:Luscinia svecica volgae.jpg|Male ''L. s. volgae'', Elektrougli, Russia
File:Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) male Biebrzaski 2.jpg|Male ''L. s. cyanecula'', Biebrzaski, Poland
File:Bluethroat AMSM6577.jpg|Bluethroat male calling at [[Jamnagar]], [[India]]
Image:Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)- Female at Bharatpur I IMG 5484.jpg|Female at [[Keoladeo National Park]], [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]], [[Rajasthan]], [[India]]
Image:Bluethroatred.JPG|Red-spotted race
File:Luscinia svecica MWNH 1799.JPG|Eggs, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden, Germany]]
Image:Bluethroat.ogv|[[Riyadh]], [[KSA]] 1992
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/bluethroat-luscinia-svecica Bluethroat videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160305072725/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/330_BluethroatLsvecica.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF; 3.4 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]
*[http://www.birdsnetherlands.nl/bluethroat%20luscinia%20svecica%20netherlands.htm Information and pictures about the Bluethroat in the Netherlands]
*[http://hdl.handle.net/2268/162545 Metzmacher M. (2008) Les Grillons, muses de la Gorgebleue à miroir blanc (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) ? Parcs & Réserves, 63 : 17–19.] (in [[French language|French]])

{{Taxonbar|from=Q26578}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Luscinia]]
[[Category:Holarctic birds]]
[[Category:Wintering birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Wintering birds of Indomalaya]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]