Lesser Whitethroat

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Lesser Whitethroat, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Green listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	Bern(III), Bonn(II)

Lesser Whitethroat abundance was roughly stable (albeit with short-term fluctuations) from the 1960s until the late 1980s, but the CBC/BBS and CES trends provide evidence for a subsequent moderate decline that lasted into the late 1990s. These changes were statistically significant, and large enough over the relevant periods to trigger alerts. BBS has subsequently shown a significant sharp upturn, but this contrasts strongly with the continued decrease recorded by CES ringers. A northward redistribution of the UK breeding population (Balmer et al. 2013) may go some way to explaining inconsistencies in the monitoring results. Wide fluctuations in survival and productivity have been recorded by CES ringers, and may be influencing population change, but pressures during migration and in winter are the most likely causes of any decline (Fuller et al. 2005). Numbers across Europe have been broadly stable since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population

No population change in UK (1967–2022)

Breeding Lesser Whitethroats were historically restricted to England, but range expansion over the last 40 years has seen them spread into lowland areas of Wales, northern England, southern Scotland and southwest England.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	1459
% occupied in breeding season	48
No. occupied in winter	59
% occupied in winter	2

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in

Reedbed

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Lesser Whitethroat breeding range has expanded by 33% since the 1970s. Increases in the north and decreases in abundance in the south suggest a range shift may be underway.

Lesser Whitethroat is a summer visitor, arriving in mid April; after singing it is generally harder to detect until autumn when a pulse of passage migrants can be encountered in August and September. Later migrants may be of eastern origin. A handful of birds winter.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	9 years 0 months 2 days (set in 2008)
Typical Lifespan	2 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.329±0.038
Juvenile Survival	0.355 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	65.5±1.9 | Range 63–69mm, N=3078
	Juveniles	65.6±1.7 | Range 63-68mm, N=4634
	Males	65.8±1.8 | Range 63–69mm, N=848
	Females	65±1.8 | Range 62–68mm, N=694

Body Weight	Adults	11.4±0.9 | Range 10.2–13.1g, N=2621
	Juveniles	11.8±1 | Range 10.4–13.5g, N=4146
	Males	11.2±0.8 | Range 10.2–12.5g, N=684
	Females	11.7±1 | Range 10.3–13.5g, N=574

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	A
Field Codes	2-letter: LW | 5-letter code: LESWH | Euring: 12740

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

There is little good evidence available regarding the drivers of the breeding population change in this species in the UK.

Further information on causes of change

No further information is available.

Information about conservation actions

There is no good evidence to explain why the population of Lesser Whitethroat has fluctuated and therefore few specific conservation actions have been proposed to benefit this species.

A study in Strathclyde found that mixed scrubby areas (mature hawthorn interspersed with bramble, dog rose, gorse and willow) were important and that the birds preferred areas from which grazing animals were denied access by fencing (Byars et al. 1991). However, it should be noted that this was based on only seven occupied territories at the edge of the species range. A Polish study also found that Lesser Whitethroat preferred habitat with structural heterogeneity and that they favoured shrubs ( Szymanski & Antczak 2013).