Bluethroat vs clouded magpie

Luscinia svecica compared with Abraxas sylvata

Key Differences

• Bluethroat is Near Threatened while clouded magpie is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bluethroat	clouded magpie
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Muscicapidae	Geometridae
Genus	Luscinia	Abraxas
Species	Luscinia svecica	Abraxas sylvata

Evolutionary Relationship

Bluethroat and clouded magpie share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Bluethroat

NT — Near Threatened

clouded magpie

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bluethroat	clouded magpie
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bluethroat

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

clouded magpie

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Bluethroat

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

clouded magpie

The clouded magpie (Abraxas sylvata) is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae found across temperate Europe, extending eastward through Russia to Japan. The adult wingspan measures approximately 32–42 mm, with white wings bearing a distinctive pattern of yellow-orange and dark grey to black spots and patches arranged in rows across the forewing and hindwing, creating a striking patterned appearance resembling the magpie coloring of the related magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata, but with a more yellowish, muted tone and less black — hence 'clouded.' Adults fly in one generation from June to July, resting on leaf surfaces and attending woodland flowers for nectar. The larvae feed on wych elm (Ulmus glabra) and occasionally other Ulmus species in mature deciduous woodland and woodland edges. The clouded magpie has become less common in parts of its European range due to the widespread loss of mature elms from Dutch elm disease, which devastated European elm populations from the 1970s onward. Conservation of this species requires the protection of surviving mature elm trees and management of regrowth elms in woodland ecosystems.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden