Whitethroat
Sylvia communis
Silhouette: Alexis Lours · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilySylviidae (Sylviid Warblers and Allies)
- GenusSylvia (Sylvia Warblers)
- SpeciesSylvia communis (Whitethroat)
About the Whitethroat
The greater whitethroat or common whitethroat (Curruca communis) 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.
The English ornithologist John Latham described the Greater whitethroat in 1783 in his A General Synopsis of Birds but introduced the binomial name Sylvia communis in the supplement to this work which was published in 1787. The specific communis is Latin for "common". The common whitethroat is now placed in the genus Curruca that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802.
This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Curruca, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related. A molecular phylogenetic study of the Sylviidae published in 2011 found that within the genus Curruca the common whitethroat... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Whitethroat in Serengeti National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Serengeti National Park
Banded Warbler
Sylvia boehmi
Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla
Garden Warbler
Sylvia borin
Brown Warbler
Sylvia lugens
Superb Starling
Lamprotornis superbus
Rüppell's Glossy-starling
Lamprotornis purpuroptera
Grey-backed Fiscal
Lanius excubitoroides
Northern White-crowned Shrike
Eurocephalus ruppelli
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilis
Hildebrandt's Starling
Lamprotornis hildebrandti
Rattling Cisticola
Cisticola chiniana
Wattled Starling
Creatophora cinerea
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Whitethroat in Serengeti National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Whitethroat sighting in Serengeti National Park, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Whitethroat in Serengeti National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Whitethroat in Serengeti National Park in our monthly data.