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Nightingales are on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern. There are only around 6,700 breeding males left in the UK, which is why finding one feels so special.
Nightingales can be tricky to spot, but your best chance of experiencing their song is in the woodland and scrub of southern and eastern England, mainly south of the Severn-Wash line.
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Brilliant birds, month by month: what to see and where to go.
Nightingales are larger than Robins. They have plain, brown plumage, with grey-brown underparts and pale throats. Listen out for their melodic song that can be heard at night as well as during the day.
Diet mostly consists of insects, including beetles, ants and flies. In autumn, eats some plant material such as berries.
Typically they nest in dense hedges and scrub. Nests are on, or close to, the ground.
May – June. They have one to two broods per nesting season.
Nightingales have an average life expectancy of two years. The oldest ringed bird lived to eight years.
Yes, they are summer migrants to the UK and spend the winter in Africa.
Yes, Nightingales are in decline and are now mainly found in southern and eastern England.
April.
Between July and September.
