Subalpine warbler

    Sylvia cantillans

Castilian: Curruca carrasqueña

Catalan: Tallarol de garriga

Gallego: Papuxa carrasqueira

Euskera: Txinbo papargorrizta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Sylviidae

Migratory status: Summer 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

It is not considered threatened, given that it is a species that is stable and not very selective with regards to its habitat requirements. The dangers are found in its sub-Saharan wintering areas, as a result of droughts and desertification.

Length / size: 12 cm / 15-19 cm

Identification: Small warbler with a red eye-ring, light-coloured feet and white external tail feathers. The male's back is slate grey and his underparts are reddish, which contrast with his white moustache. The female's colours are duller, her back and brown and her underparts are pink.

Song: It is a series of verses that sounded as if it were clearing its throat that progress rapidly. Its call is a dry, short and repetitive "tek-tek".

Diet: It especially feeds on insects (larvae and adults) such as grasshoppers, bugs, ants, spiders, etc.; in summer and autumn it can consume fruits and seeds.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in April. Both parents build a hidden nest in the vegetation or inside a small tree; the nest is bowl-shaped and is made of branches and leaves, and lined with hair and feathers. Both parents incubate, feed and care for the chicks. The male can care for the flying chicks if there is a second brood.

HABITAT

It prefers areas in which scrubland formations predominate, such as moors, broom stands, rockrose bushes, etc. It can also appear in pine or savin groves, as long as there is an abundant layer of undergrowth that includes bushes. It is found from sea level up to an elevation of 1,900 metres in Sierra Nevada.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout almost all of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, although it is absent on the Canary Islands, most of the Cantabrian region, Levante, and other inland peninsular areas, such as La Mancha, the south of Extremadura and western Andalusia.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the entire community, with large concentrations in northern and southwestern Zamora and in western Salamanca.

Movements and migrations: It is a migratory species with wintering areas in the southern Sahara, in tropical Africa. The prenuptial passage takes place between February and March, and the postnuptial between August and October.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1.1 to 2.3 million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: