Common nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

The Common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) is a bird found in France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany and Portugal. Thickets and woods across Europe; winters in Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Luscinia megarhynchos
Region	Europe
Found in	France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany and Portugal

🏡 Where the Common nightingale lives

Thickets and woods across Europe; winters in Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs70%
🍎 Fruit20%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It sings sweetly, even at night.

Hear the Common nightingale

Recorded by SWIFT Olivier (CC BY-NC 4.0), xeno-canto XC1156443. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common nightingale

Where does the Common nightingale live?

The Common nightingale lives in France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany and Portugal. Thickets and woods across Europe; winters in Africa.

What does the Common nightingale eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fruit (about 20%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common nightingale endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.