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Common whitethroat migration Curruca communis
ⶠFollow the common whitethroat across the big globe
Press ⶠto play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
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| Scientific name | Curruca communis |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 20 cm |
| Adult weight | 14.5 g (adult) |
| Records mapped | 1,454,065 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q26974 (CC0).
When does the common whitethroat arrive in the UK?
A summer visitor in the records: sightings jump in mid April and fall away after mid September.
Bars: this speciesâ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 216,266 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? â
Migration in the data
1,454,065 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 July (about 53°N) and furthest south in December (about 6°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6°N | 24% |
| February | 15°N | 17% |
| March | 25°N | 8% |
| April | 40°N | 1% |
| May | 48°N | 0% |
| June | 52°N | 0% |
| July | 53°N | 0% |
| August | 48°N | 0% |
| September | 41°N | 0% |
| October | 29°N | 2% |
| November | 11°N | 17% |
| December | 6°N | 29% |
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 whitethroat
The greater whitethroat or common whitethroat is a common and widespread Old World warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.
From the Wikipedia article âSylvia communisâ (revision 1061012781), 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=2492943&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.