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The Common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a bird found in Sweden, Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, and 4 more countries. Hedges, scrub and farmland across Europe and Asia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Common whitethroat lives

Hedges, scrub and farmland across Europe and Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs60%
• 🍎 Fruit30%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

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

Conservation status

Hear the Common whitethroat

Recorded by David Darrell-Lambert (CC BY-NC 4.0), xeno-canto XC1173771. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common whitethroat

Where does the Common whitethroat live?

The Common whitethroat lives in Sweden, Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, and 4 more countries. Hedges, scrub and farmland across Europe and Asia.

What does the Common whitethroat eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 60%), fruit (about 30%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common whitethroat endangered?

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

More birds from Europe

• Sedge warbler
• European bee-eater
• Short-toed treecreeper
• Common eider
• Zitting cisticola
• Western yellow wagtail

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