This blogpost is dedicated to the Bluethroat. In Dutch called Blauwborst. This one of my favourite birds. The bluethroat is a striking appearance in the Dutch bird world due to its colors and exuberant singing. Bluethroat has made considerable progress in the Netherlands in recent decades. This is because more suitable habitat has been added. It is one of the few species that has been removed from the Red List because it is doing so well. The male has a blue chin and chest with a white spot in the middle (‘star’). At the bottom, the blue breast is bordered by a black band, a thinner white band, and below that a rust-brown stain. If a bluethroat spreads its tail, you will see a striking orange-brown tail base with a very wide black end band. The female lacks the blue breast, but just like the male she has a light eyebrow line and the same orange-brown tail base with black end band. Bluethroat searches for food among vegetation. During the courtship the male flies up out of the reeds with a melodic song to settle elsewhere with spread tail and wings. In the Netherlands, blue breasts are also seen with orange ‘star’ on the blue breast, a rare migrant from mainly Scandinavia.
Source: The Dutch Bird protection – Vogelbescherming.
