Nightingales are slightly larger than robins, with a robust, broad-tailed, rather plain brown appearance.

A secretive bird which likes nothing better than hiding in the middle of an impenetrable bush or thicket. In the UK they breed mostly south of the Severn-Wash line and east from Dorset to Kent. The highest densities are found in the south east: Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Kent and Sussex.

They arrive in April and sing until late May and early June. They leave again from July to September. They can be heard singing throughout the day, as well as at night.

They feed on insects.

Local and occasional in the UK with nearly all records coming from an area south of a line from the Severn to the Humber.

Infrequent in Leicestershire and Rutland.