Ruff

    Philomachus pugnax

Castilian: Combatiente

Catalan: Batallaire

Gallego: Combatente

Euskera: Borrokalaria

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Charadriiformes

Family: Scolopacidae

Migratory status: Passage migrant/Winter resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

The principal threat is illegal hunting during the wintering season and migration, but the drying up of wetlands and industrial expansion are other problems.

Length / size: 20-30 cm / 48-60 cm

Identification: Large wader with a long neck, short bill and somewhat long legs. During mating season the male is unmistakeable, given its ruff of feathers and multi-coloured head feathers; this change does not occur in the female, whose back feathers simply form different patterns and whose lower body is lighter and whose flanks have dark spots. Plumage is grey during the rest of the year, and the belly and flanks are lighter.

Song: Generally silent, although it sometimes makes low-intensity sounds.

Diet: It feeds on insects and their larvae, but outside mating season it complements its diet with plant matter.

Reproduction: They breed alone, although sometimes several females end up nesting near each other. At the end of April breeding begins, with confrontations among males. The nest is located in a small depression in the ground, hidden among vegetation, and made of grass, leaves and stalks. The female incubates the eggs and the chicks are able to move about by themselves shortly after being born.

HABITAT

During breeding season it prefers cold climates but not windy or wet ones, which is why it breeds in arctic and subarctic regions. However, outside breeding season, it occupies wet areas, with a preference for flooded meadows or pastureland, shallow banks, ponds and marshes.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is found in both coastal and interior areas, but it is hardly seen in Galicia and the Cantabrian coast. In winter, an important concentration is located in Doñana and the surrounding area.

In Castile and León: Villafáfila is its only routine wintering site.

Movements and migrations: It is a migratory species that winters in Africa. The postnuptial passage takes place along the Mediterranean coast in August, and the prenuptial between March and April.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1750 wintering specimens.

In Castile and León: