Red-Spotted Bluethroat

(Luscinia svecica), a bird of the thrush family, order Passeriformes. Length, 15 cm. The male’s back is brownish; tail, red with a black spot; and throat and crop, blue with a red or white spot. The female is less brightly colored. The red-spotted bluethroat is widespread in northern Europe and northern and Central Asia; it migrates to North Africa and Southern Asia for the winter. In the USSR it is found from the western borders to Chukotka but is absent from the Crimea, the Caucasus, the deserts of Middle Asia, and the taiga of Eastern Siberia. The bird settles in shrubbery thickets, less frequently in reed thickets along the banks of bodies of water; it is found in the mountains up to 3,500 m above sea level. Nests are on the ground with 4-7 eggs to a clutch. The bird feeds on insects and berries.