European robin

    Erithacus rubecula

Castilian: Petirrojo europeo

Catalan: Pit-roig

Gallego: Paporrubio

Euskera: Txantxangorria

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Turdidae

Migratory status: Permanent 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

Although its population has increased, it is affected by the increasingly general use of chemical products used to treat olive groves against competing vegetation. (AFECTA AL HÁBITAT O AL ALIMENTO?)

Length / size: 14-16,5 cm / 20-22 cm

Identification: Small bird with a pudgy appearance, especially in winter when it fluffs its wings. It is characterised by a large orange spot that covers its chest and face, bordered by a subtle grey band; the rest of its plumage is brown on its back and dirty white on its belly. Juveniles are brown and their wings are tipped in yellow.

Song: It makes a dry, insistent "tak-tak-tak" call. Its song is more elaborate and melodic.

Diet: It primarily feeds on ants, beetles and spiders, complementing its diet in autumn and winter with fruits from blackberry bushes, elders, mastics, olives, wild olives, and even broken acorns that other birds have left.

Reproduction: Depending on the altitude, the can begin breeding in March or May. The nest is placed near the ground, in natural hollows or at the base of trees and bushes, and it is made of abundant dead leaves, grass and moss covered with very thin roots, hair and feathers. The female is in charge of incubation, and the male feeds her and the newborn chicks; later, both are responsible for caring for the chicks.

HABITAT

In spring and summer, in the north, it occupies any kind of forest, countryside, orchard, park or garden; in the south it occupies riverside forests and mountain forests. In winter it lives in any type of habitat, especially in the Mediterranean hills that are rich in fleshy bushes and insects. It can breed at altitudes of up to 2,000 metres.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: In winter it is distributed throughout the entire peninsula, the Canary and Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla; during breeding season, body size decrease the further south the bird is located.

In Castile and León: When breeding, it is distributed throughout all the provinces, with the largest concentrations found in León and southwestern Burgos, while it is rare in the central-western region of the community; when wintering, it is well distributed throughout all the provinces.

Movements and migrations: Depending on the region, it can act as sedentary or migrant. In northern Europe (Scandinavia, Russia, and the northern half of eastern Europe) they are migrant; in the Atlantic islands, western Europe and northern Africa they are sedentary, making altitudinal movements in winter, something that is common in Spain. Significant passages of this species across the Strait of Gibraltar have been observed in autumn (September-November) and early spring (February-April).

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1.2 to 3 million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: