Lesser Whitethroat:



The scientific name of the bird is Sylvia curruca and also known as whitethroat. The bird is found commonly around Europe and is a type of warbler. The bird falls into the category of passerine birds and they move towards Africa while they migrate. Both the sexes look the same, so not much of noticeable difference among the male and female birds.
The bird is smaller in size, and has a grey top part. The under parts are white in colour and there is a bandit mask over the eyes up to the throat which looks quite interesting if observed in different shots. The bird has uniform colour spread on its body and the wings are chestnut in colour. The song of the bird is quite fast in nature and it also can make different types of calls depending on the situation like anxiety or fear of something or during breeding. It is almost 13 cms in length with a wingspan of 19 cms while the wings are both fully stretched. The bird can weigh up to 16 grams and they tend to breed in pairs. The bird as mentioned, migrates during winter season, but else remains a resident bird of moderate areas. The tail is short and the feathers on the outer tail are also whitish in appearance. The young ones are much closer to the adults in their looks and do not change much in colour. The male bird is just with a darker mask on the face and there could be a tinge on its breast of pink colour and these characteristics may not be there in the female bird. The other behavioural difference is the male bird is often found singing and the female is responsible for feeding the young ones.
The bird as is quite common among the warblers eats insects most of the time but then at times, while unavailability of preferred food, they can munch on available soft fruits and berries from different trees. The favourite food is made up of caterpillars, flies and beetles which are easily available to them in the preferred living areas of the bird. The bird loves to live in open areas, which are normally the cultivation grounds or fields. Huge trees or forest areas are its second preference areas. The bird makes its nests in low lying branches or shrubs and can give up to seven eggs at a time. The nest is made out of twigs and grass and is quite soft in nature with lot of grass being used to fill up the nest. The eggs of the bird are creamy white in colour and have a blotchy mark on top of them or could have olive tone to them, and the eggs can be up to 17mm by 13mm of size. The birds also show lot of understanding since the incubation of these eggs is a joint activity and is taken care by these birds turn by turn. The feeding of the young one is primarily done by the female though, still keeping that on turn by turn basis.
The bird has been established to have been a close acquaintance with the whitethroat which is also known to be its native.

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