Aim Boreal forest bird species appear to be divided into lineages endemic to each northern continent, in contrast to Holarctic species living in open habitats. For example, the three‐toed woodpecker ( Picoides tridactylus ) and the winter wren ( Troglodytes troglodytes ) have divergent Nearctic and Palaearctic mitochondrial DNA clades. Furthermore, in these species, the next closest relative of the Nearctic/Palaearctic sister...

We analysed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 154 bluethroats ( Luscinia svecica ) sampled at 21 sites throughout much of their Eurasian range. A previously reported, single base‐pair mtDNA difference between L. s. svecica and L. s . namnetum was inconsistent upon expanded geographical sampling. A significant F ST value (0.29) and an isolation‐by‐distance effect show the existence of geographical differentiation. Phylog...