Luscinia luscinia
Silhouette: Stephan Sprinz · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), also known as the sprosser, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is a migratory species breeding in forests in Europe and the Palearctic and overwintering in Africa. An insectivore, it nests near the ground in dense undergrowth. Its distribution is more northerly than the very closely related common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), which it closely resembles in appearance. Hybrids between the two have occurred in areas where their ranges overlap.
The thrush nightingale is similar in size to the European robin. Sexes are similar, both being plain greyish-brown above and white and greyish-brown below. Its greyer tones, giving a cloudy appearance to the underside, and lack of the common nightingale's obvious rufous tail side patches are the clearest plumage differences from that species. It also has a similar but somewhat more solemn song than that of L. megarhynchos. The nightingales, and similar small European species, are often called chats.
The thrush nightingale belongs to a distinctive group of Old World flycatchers, known as chats, that were formerly thought to be thrushes. It was formally... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 3 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 4 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 11 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerusalem | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 2 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Minsk | 🇧🇾 Belarus | |
| 5 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 6 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 7 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Yekaterinburg | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 9 | Kazan | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Thrush Nightingale sighting in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 254th most-seen of the 257 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Thrush Nightingale in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and April–December, the lowest months. That is one of South Luangwa National Park's wettest months, with about 310 mm of rain against almost none in September.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Thrush Nightingale sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Thrush Nightingale sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 40%), Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 30%) and Gauja National Park (Latvia, about 20%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Thrush Nightingale that you can see in South Luangwa National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-browed Robin-Chat (about 40%), Ashy Alseonax (about 10%) and Southern Black Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Thrush Nightingale is recorded against all the birds logged in South Luangwa National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
