Scientific name: Sylvia curruca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Warblers
Field characters. 13.5 cm. Close to Common Whitethroat in structure and size. Head grey, ear-coverts even darker, upperparts brownish-grey, wings and tail darker and tail with white edges. Chest buffish to grey, belly lighter, throat white. Indistinct white eye-ring. Unlike Whitethroat, no rufous fringes on wing feathers, although edges can be lighter. Legs dark. Juvenile may have greyer and paler iris than adult. Does not habitually sing from exposed songpost and usually stays in dense cover.
Voice. Calls 'tec' and 'chrr'. Song, often starting with soft Common Whitethroat-like warble, ends in distinct loud monotonous rattle.
Distribution. Common summer visitor, scarcer towards extreme west end of range.
Habitat. Luxuriant vegetation with dense undergrowth, near open terrain; eg. along edges of woods and marshes, parks, gardens, etc.
Food. Mainly insects, in autumn also berries.