Lesser Whitethroat
Sylvia curruca

The lesser whitethroat is a common and widespread Old World warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India. Source
Where it is now
In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 915 times across 14 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).
See the Lesser Whitethroat on the live map
Movement and weather
Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 12°C (typically 9 to 13°C, from 8 areas). That holds across 15° of latitude, which suggests its timing follows temperature more than the calendar.
Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 57°N in September to 66°N in July, about 1,000 km apart.
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 6 April 2026 | 4 May 2026 | 11 May 2026 | 8 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.