Common Nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos C. L. Brehm, 1831
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
A common nightingale in Belgium
Warrieboy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), is a small passerine bird which is known for its powerful and beautiful song, often described as one of the most beautiful sounds in nature. An Old World flycatcher, it belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. Its range partly overlaps with that of the more northerly thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia), a closely related species with which hybrids have occurred.
Wikipedia contributors, Common nightingale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:07:39.933777+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Luscinia megarhynchos C. L. Brehm, 1831
- Name authority
- C. L. Brehm, 1831
- Common name
- Common Nightingale
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Luscinia
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae Fleming, 1822
- genusLuscinia T. Forster, 1817
- speciesLuscinia megarhynchos C. L. Brehm, 1831
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Luscinia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Siberian Blue RobinLuscinia cyane (Pallas, 1776) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| BlackthroatLuscinia obscura (Berezowski & Bianchi, 1891) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| FirethroatLuscinia pectardens (David, 1877) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-tailed RubythroatLuscinia pectoralis (Gould, 1837) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-tailed RobinLuscinia sibilans (Swinhoe, 1863) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-headed RobinLuscinia ruficeps (Hartert, 1907) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian Blue RobinLuscinia brunnea (Hodgson, 1837) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Siberian RubythroatLuscinia calliope (Pallas, 1776) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Thrush NightingaleLuscinia luscinia (Linnaeus, 1758) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| BluethroatLuscinia svecica (Linnaeus, 1758) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560897 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3WFW6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.