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Common nightingale migration Luscinia megarhynchos
▶ Follow the common nightingale across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
| Scientific name | Luscinia megarhynchos |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 24 cm |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 854,823 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q25393 (CC0).
When does the common nightingale arrive in the UK?
A summer visitor in the records: sightings jump in mid April and fall away after mid June.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 14,311 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
When do they arrive in and leave the UK? →
Migration in the data
854,823 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in June (about 43°N) and furthest south in December (about 8°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 10°N | 14% |
| February | 8°N | 13% |
| March | 33°N | 3% |
| April | 41°N | 0% |
| May | 42°N | 0% |
| June | 43°N | 0% |
| July | 43°N | 0% |
| August | 42°N | 0% |
| September | 38°N | 0% |
| October | 25°N | 1% |
| November | 8°N | 17% |
| December | 8°N | 17% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the common nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale, is a small passerine bird which is known for its powerful and beautiful song, often described as one of the most beautiful sounds in nature. An Old World flycatcher, it belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. …
From the Wikipedia article “Common nightingale” (revision 1371092226), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=7660710&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.