Common Nightingale

beautiful song · small bird · Europe · nocturnal singer

Incredible singer. The common nightingale is famous for its absolutely stunning song, which many people consider one of the most beautiful sounds you can hear in nature. It sings loudly and brilliantly, especially at night and during mating season.

Tiny but mighty. Despite being a small passerine bird (that means it belongs to the perching bird family), the nightingale's voice is remarkably powerful and can be heard from far away. You might not expect such a tiny creature to make such an enormous, gorgeous sound!

Old World flycatcher. The common nightingale is a type of flycatcher from Europe, Africa, and Asia. It catches insects in flight and belongs to a group called chats, which are more comfortable hopping around on the ground than many other birds.

Night singer. The nightingale often sings at night, which is why people throughout history have written poems and songs about it. This mysterious nighttime performance made the bird famous in European culture for centuries.

Close cousin nearby. There's another bird called the thrush nightingale that lives further north and is very similar to the common nightingale. Sometimes the two species overlap in their ranges and have even produced hybrid babies together.