Nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

Statistics
Length16cm
Wingspan24cm
Weight21g
Lifespan2 years

The melodious song of the nightingale is the most likely sign of this bird being about. Shy and secretive, it sings from dense scrub and woodland, day and night.

About

A shy bird, the nightingale is about the same size as a robin and a summer visitor, arriving here in April and leaving in September. Nightingales nest in dense scrub, from where they sing their famously beautiful melodies throughout the day and at night.

How to identify

The nightingale is best recognised by its song. If spotted, it is a robust, broad-tailed, plain brown bird without the streaks of the dunnock or the red-breast of the robin.

Did you know?

Nightingales are famously the best singers of all UK birds, their harmonies immortalised in literature throughout history and inspiring the likes of Homer, Milton and Keats.