This web page uses its own cookies and the third-party cookies to collect the information which help us make the service as good as possible. By no means is our intention to use it for gathering personal data.

Cookies policy

Birds

Birds

Common name Common whitethroat
Scientific name Sylvia communis
Type Shrubland birds
Status Migrator

Small bird (about 14 cm or 5.5 in), although a little larger than other warblers. Brown upperparts in the male, grey and brown head, underparts of whitish to pink tones, white throat and rufous wings. Females present more muted tones. Both sexes show light-coloured legs and a clear eye ring with reddish iris. Long tail with white outer feathers.

Habitats

Scrubland

Where it lives

Species linked to vegetation mosaics in cool and humid environments in which it occupies thicket zones interspersed with grasslands, fields and open areas. In the south of the peninsula, the Common Whitethroat prefers mountain areas where it is associated with bushes, grasslands and shrubby hedges that are stages of substitution of oak groves.

How it lives

Summer species in the province and that also appears during its migratory passages. It begins to breed in April-May. Nest in low shrubs or bushes. Two annual layings of 1 to 7 eggs. Insectivore that consumes fruits and berries in autumn and winter.

Where it can be seen in Malaga

Species very localized in the province. It only breeds in the two highest mountain ranges of Málaga (Sierra de las Nieves and Sierra Tejeda), although it is common to see it in other locations with favourable habitat. In recent years, wintering specimens have been observed in the coast of Malaga. In the Great Path this bird can be watched in stages 11, 23 and 34.

Curious facts

The Common Whitethroat is a bird very common in northern Europe and relatively also in the Cantabrian cornice. In Malaga it is a rare bird but easy to detect because it is not as elusive and discreet as other warblers. Males usually perch in the high parts of thickets and are very visible. The nuptial courtship of this warbler is "violent" in the sense that the male harasses the female closely by offering her a blade of grass that he carries in the bill and under the maxim of "if at first you don’t succeed, try again". The female turns and attacks him, at which point the male recoils. But then he comes back to harass her until she gets the female to accept him.

Similar birds
Present
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wintering Summer Resident Migration
Audios