Spectacled warbler

    Sylvia conspicillata

Castilian: Curruca tomillera

Catalan: Tallarol trencamates

Gallego: Papuxa tomiñeira

Euskera: Ezkal-txinboa

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 “Least Concern”.

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THREATS

Changes in land use can affect it positively as well as negatively: the abandonment of farm land due to livestock raising furthers the expansion of its habitat, but agricultural intensification, overexploitation of livestock, urbanisation, and the reforestation of desolate uplands is causing this species' ideal environment to dwindle.

Length / size: 12-13 cm / 13-17 cm

Identification: Looks like a miniature version of the common whitethroat. The male's back is greyish-brown, his wings are reddish, his underparts are pink, his head is grey, and his throat and eye-ring are white. The female is similar, but her head is brown.

Song: Its song consists of a fast warbling that is introduced by high-pitched and melodic sounds. Its call is a prolonged and repetitive "trrr".

Diet: It especially feeds on invertebrates such as ants, spiders, grasshoppers, and some larvae, but in spring and autumn, it also consumes fruits and seeds.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in March. The nest is a small bowl made of leaves and twigs that is built by both parents; it is positioned at a low height and in thick vegetation. Both parents are in charge of incubation and feeding the chicks.

HABITAT

It occupies dry, open areas, with low and scattered scrubland (heather, thyme). It is found from sea level up to an elevation of 1,800 metres in the Iberian System.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is scattered over the peninsula, reaching central and eastern Andalusia, the highlands of the Iberian System, and the Ebro Valley. It is also abundant on the Canary Islands but not on the Balearic Islands, where it appears rarely.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the entire community, but rarely and in specific places. The largest populations are concentrated in Burgos, Palencia, Soria, and Sayago-Arribes del Duero (Zamora-Salamanca).

Movements and migrations: It is a partially migratory species. The Iberian populations travel to northern Africa to spend the winter. The prenuptial passage takes place between March and May, and the postnuptial between August and October.

POPULATION

In Spain: The exact breeding population in Spain in unknown, but it is thought to be in the tens of thousands of pairs and may even surpass one hundred thousand.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of at least 6000 breeding pairs.