BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Lesser Whitethroat

LESSER WHITETHROAT
Sylvia curruca

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: green

Long-term trend

UK, England: shallow decline

Distribution maps

Maps and statistics from British and Irish
atlases can be viewed here.

Status summary

Lesser Whitethroat abundance tended to be stable (albeit with short-term fluctuations) from the 1960s until the late 1980s, but there has since been moderate decline in the CBC/BBS trends, and CES data indicate that decline has been rapid. These changes were significant and large enough over the relevant periods to trigger BTO Alerts. Their possible causes warrant investigation. A reduction in productivity, evident from CES plots during the last ten years, suggests that the cause may be linked to productivity rather than to survival.

Table of population change for Lesser Whitethroat

Source Period
(yrs) Years Plots
(n) Change
(%) Lower
limit Upper
limit Alert Comment

CBC/BBS UK 35 1967-2002 99 -20 -45 18

25 1977-2002 122 -27 -44 -1 >25

10 1992-2002 207 -17 -28 -2

5 1997-2002 239 2 -11 12

CBC/BBS England 35 1967-2002 95 -25 -51 12

25 1977-2002 117 -33 -49 -13 >25

10 1992-2002 198 -19 -33 -5

5 1997-2002 227 3 -15 11

CES adults 18 1984-2002 41 -56 . . [>50*]

10 1992-2002 44 -58 . . [>50]

5 1997-2002 35 -34 . . [>25]

CES juveniles 18 1984-2002 44 -42 . . [>25*]

10 1992-2002 49 -60 . . [>50*]

5 1997-2002 40 -35 . . [>25]

BBS UK 9 1994-2003 202 -39 -48 -27 (>25)

BBS England 9 1994-2003 193 -39 -49 -27 (>25)

Table of productivity information for Lesser Whitethroat

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Percentage juveniles (CES) 18 1984-2002 55 Smoothed trend 87 productivity index 102 productivity index 15%

Percentage juveniles (CES) 10 1992-2002 61 Smoothed trend 125 productivity index 102 productivity index -20%

Percentage juveniles (CES) 5 1997-2002 51 Smoothed trend 107 productivity index 102 productivity index -7%

Insufficient data on clutch size
available for this species

Insufficient data on brood size
available for this species

Insufficient data on nest failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on nestling failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on laying date
available for this species


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2005) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2004. BTO Research Report No. 385. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 18 January, 2006