Sylvia communis Latham, 1787 Sylvia cinereaBechstein 1803[2]
Thecommon whitethroat orgreater whitethroat (Curruca communis) is a common and widespreadtypical warbler which breeds throughoutEurope and across much of temperate westernAsia. This smallpasserinebird is stronglymigratory, and winters in tropicalAfrica,Arabia, andPakistan.
The English ornithologistJohn Latham described the common whitethroat in 1783 in hisA General Synopsis of Birds but introduced thebinomial nameSylvia communis in the supplement to this work which was published in 1787.[3][4] The specificcommunis isLatin for "common".[5] The common whitethroat is now placed in thegenusCurruca that was introduced by the German naturalistJohann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802.[6][7]
This species may appear to be closely related to thelesser whitethroat, thespecies having evolved only during the end of thelast ice age similar to thewillow warbler andchiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliablemorphological marker for relationships inCurruca, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.[8][9] Amolecular phylogenetic study of the Sylviidae published in 2011 found that within the genusCurruca the common whitethroat and the lesser whitethroat are members of differentclades and are thus notsister species.[10]
This is one of severalCurruca species that has distinct male and femaleplumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondaryremiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.
The whitethroat's song is fast and scratchy, with a scolding tone. The hoarse, slightly nasal, call sounds likewed-wed orwoid-woid. The warning cry is long-pulled, roughtschehr which resembles that of theDartford warbler.
Eggs, CollectionMuseum Wiesbaden, GermanyFemale with chicksCuculus canorus canorus in a clutch ofSylvia communis -MHNT
This is abird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in lowshrub orbrambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like mostwarblers, it isinsectivorous, but will also eat berries and other softfruit.
In Europe, western and eastern populations of common whitethroats have contrasting moulting and pre-migratory fueling strategies to capitalise on food supplies before departing their breeding and non-breeding grounds.[11]
^Helbig, A. J. (2001): Phylogeny and biogeography of the genusSylvia.In: Shirihai, Hadoram:Sylvia warblers: 24–25 Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.ISBN0-691-08833-0
^Remisiewicz, M.; Bernitz, Z.; Bernitz, H.; Burman, M.S.; Raijmakers, J.M.H.; Raijmakers, H.F.A.; Underhill, L.G.; Rostkowska, A.; Barshep, Y.; Soloviev, S.; Siwek, I. (2019). "Contrasting strategies for wing‐moult and pre‐migratory fuelling in western and eastern populations of Common WhitethroatSylvia communis".Ibis.161 (4):824–838.doi:10.1111/ibi.12686.hdl:2263/68189.
Shirihai, Hadoram; Gargallo, Gabriel; Helbig, Andreas J. (2001).Sylvia Warblers: Identification, Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the Genus Sylvia. London: Christopher Helm.ISBN978-071363984-1.
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