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Common Whitethroat
Curruca communis
species of Sylviidae

ad. female
2nd cy male
ad.
number longest lengths distribution of longest primary smallest individual biggest individual
primary 10 per wing 59.0 - 66.0mm n=47
P6 (32%) P7 (28%) P7=P6 (21%) P8=P7 (11%) P8=P7=P6 (4%) P6=P7=P8 (2%) P8 (2%)
3538 12055
secondary 9 per wing 49.0 - 55.0mm n=45
S1 (98%) S1=S2 (2%)
12061 12065
retrix 12
62.0 - 74.0mm n=38
R3 (42%) R2=R3 (29%) R2 (5%) R3=R4=R5 (5%) R2=R3=R4 (5%) R3=R4 (5%) R1=R2 (3%) R1 (3%) R1=R3=R4 (3%)
353 12055
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
no data available no data available 14 - 23% n=37 no data available no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



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country allocations

extant

Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Angola (vagrant) · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Belarus · Belgium · Benin (vagrant) · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Cameroon · Canary Is. · Central African Republic (vagrant) · Central Asian Russia · China · Congo · Congo, The Democratic Republic of the · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Djibouti · Eastern Asian Russia · Egypt · Eritrea · Estonia · Eswatini · Ethiopia · European Russia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Gabon (vagrant) · Gambia · Georgia · Germany · Ghana · Gibraltar · Greece · Guinea · Hungary · Iceland (vagrant) · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Latvia · Lebanon · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malawi · Mali · Malta · Mauritania · Moldova, Republic of · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Namibia · Netherlands · Niger · Nigeria · North Macedonia · Norway · Oman · Palestine, State of · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Romania · Russian Federation · Rwanda (vagrant) · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles (vagrant) · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Spain · Sudan · Sweden · Switzerland · Syrian Arab Republic · Tajikistan · Tanzania, United Republic of · Togo · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Uganda · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · Uzbekistan · Western Sahara · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: 264551677 | 2024

Songbirds and kin

subspecies

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected