Luscinia megarhynchos
The nightingale, nominate subspecies megarhyncos, nests throughout Europe and North Africa, except in the mountains. During the breeding season, the nightingale is very territorial and moves within a very restricted area. This does not prevent it from being a highly migratory bird, spending the winter in tropical Africa. It migrates by night.
It could be said of the nightingale that its plumage does not match its singing abilities! It may look rather uniform and dull, but the complex, varied and often thunderous melodies of its songs, sometimes all night long, have made it famous.
To find out more about the migratory routes of nightingales and their flight altitudes, particularly as they cross the Channel, they are captured using vertical nets at their nesting sites in the UK and France. They are fitted with a 0.5g GLS which records the data (approximate geographical positions and precise atmospheric pressure for altitude). In order to collect the data, the GLSs have to be recovered the following year by recapturing the birds on their return from wintering.
Breeding in France ; Migratory passing through France