Lesser Whitethroat
Curruca curruca
Unlike most Western European migratory birds that fly southwest to winter in Africa, the Lesser Whitethroat travels southeast across the Mediterranean and Middle East.
- Scientific name
- Curruca curruca
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Sylviidae › Curruca
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Thick scrub, hedgerows, forest edges, and mature gardens.
- Diet
- Primarily insects and spiders during the breeding season; berries and fruit in autumn.
- Range
- Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, East Africa
- Size
- Length: 11.5–12.5 cm; Wingspan: 18–21 cm; Weight: 11–14 g
- Lifespan
- 2 to 5 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Loss of hedgerows and scrub habitat due to agricultural intensification, and decline of insect prey from pesticide use.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This small bird is active and easily startled. Observe quietly from a distance of 5-10 meters using binoculars. If you find an injured bird, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator; do not attempt to keep it as a pet.
The lesser whitethroat ( Curruca curruca ) 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.
Photo: hedera.baltica, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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