The Common Nightingale breeds in north-west Africa and in western and central Europe through Turkey and the Caucasus to central Asia. In winter it migrates to Africa south of the Sahara and mainly north of the Equator. See the distribution map at xeno-canto.

For a bird with such a beautiful song it has a rather drab appearance though it is more often heard than seen. It is brown above with a reddish tail and rump. Below it is greyish with a buffy tinge on a pale breast band. The eye is dark with a thin pale eyering.