Bluethroat. Luscinia svecica. It is a slender, graceful, long-legged, thin-beaked passerine. It breeds in shrubs less than 2 m long and containing clearings in damp forest steppes in tall grasses, reeds and swamp edges, in river or lakeside vegetation such as dwarf willows and thickets and on the edges of clearings and peat bogs in broad-leaved or mixed forests. It is seen in pairs during the breeding season and in family groups for a short period immediately after breeding but is otherwise usually solitary. It is usually timid (especially in wintering areas) and shy, and may wander for long periods hidden in vegetation, but may come out onto roads or the edges of scrub reeds in some breeding areas it is more docile and may remain in the open for long periods, especially when singing.
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