page_title: Bluethroat
section_title: Etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Bluethroat / Etymology
caption_attribution_description: English: Calling
context_page_description: The bluethroat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called chats.
  It is a 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 north Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
  The bluethroat is similar in size to the European robin at 13–14 cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive black tail with red side patches. It has a strong white supercilium.
  The male has an iridescent blue bib edged below with successive black, white and rust coloured borders. Some races, such as L. svecica svecica of northern Eurasia, have a red spot in the centre of the blue bib.
  Others, such as L. svecica cyanecula of southern and central Europe, have a white spot in the centre of the blue bib. L. svecica magna in Turkey has no central spot.
  Females of all races usually have just a blackish crescent on an otherwise cream throat and breast.
context_section_description: The genus name Luscinia is  Latin for the common nightingale and svecica is New Latin. The colours of the male's breast were thought to evoke the Swedish flag, the yellow in the flag being more orange hued in the 17th and 18th centuries.
caption: Calling
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