Common Nightingale
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Habitat and behaviour
Habitat: Dense scrub (S. England summer).
Diet: Insects, berries.
Best time to spot: Legendary song; rarely seen.
When to look
A summer visitor, typically in the UK from April to August. Numbers peak in May. See the May birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.
How rare is it?
The Common Nightingale sits in our Uncommon tier for the UK: regular, but you usually need the right place or the right season. It is Red-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the highest level of concern in the UK.
Recent UK sightings
No community sightings logged for this species yet. Log the first one.
Similar birds
- BluethroatRare · Wet scrub
- Thrush NightingaleRare · Wet scrub (rare passage)
- White-spotted BluethroatRare · Wet scrub (very rare race)
- Garden WarblerUncommon · Scrub
- Cetti's WarblerUncommon · Dense waterside scrub
- Lesser WhitethroatUncommon · Hedges
Kit that helps
Bird ID starter kit. Affiliate links, our own picks, no extra cost to you.
Log a Common Nightingale in your free UK Birdedex