‘Eastern’ Nightingales

A recent article on Birding Frontiers about ‘Eastern’ Nightingales by Oscar Campbell prompted me to examine the Nightingales (ssp golzii) I saw in northern Xinjiang Province, China.  In the small town where we stayed, about 250km north of Urumqi – in a former military area, called simply “130” – the Common Nightingale is probably the second most common bird (after Tree Sparrow) and uncharacteristically showy.  There were at least 4 singing males in the hotel garden.  Here is a video compilation, showing some of the tail movement referred to in the Birding Frontiers article.

To my eyes, these birds looked paler than the ones I used to see in the UK and with less rufous tails… but I must admit that I never saw the UK birds as well as these show-offs!

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