Common Nightingale

🔍 Overview

Renowned for its rich, powerful song, the Nightingale is a special summer visitor to Sussex. A priority species with strongholds in dense thickets and scrubland.

🪶 Key Identification Features

Size: Small (15–17 cm)
Plumage: Warm brown with reddish tail
Distinctive Marks: Unmarked face, plain plumage
Bill: Fine, dark
Tail: Reddish and rounded
Flight: Low and darting

🗺️ Habitat & Distribution

Best seen/heard at Woods Mill, Pulborough Brooks, or Cissbury Ring in April–June.

🎶 Voice & Behaviour

Rich, varied, fluting song often delivered at night. Complex, melodious, and very loud.

🍴 Diet

Feeds on insects, beetles, spiders, and some berries.

📸 Birding Tip

Go early morning or late evening in April–May. Listen for song in dense undergrowth — seeing one is a challenge!