Common whitethroat

    Sylvia communis

Castilian: Curruca zarcera

Catalan: Tallareta vulgar

Gallego: Papuxa común

Euskera: Sasi-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 “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

It is not threatened but there are risk factors, such as the clearing of shrubland, fires, and the elimination of forest bounaries and small woods, which all cause the alteration or loss of its breeding habitats.

Length / size: 14 cm / 18-23 cm

Identification: Medium-sized warbler whose tail is relatively long and has white external tail feathers. The male's head is grey during mating season and brown the rest of the year; his throat is white, his back brown, his wings reddish, and his underparts light with shades of pink. The female is generally browner and duller. Up close the contrast between the adult's red iris and light eye-ring can be seen.

Song: It consists of a series of brief verses that alternate between high-pitched elements and other that are rougher and deeper. It makes a nasal, rough, hoarse "vaid" call.

Diet: It primarily feeds on beetles, bugs, ants, etc., which it can complement with berries at the end of summer and in autumn.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in May. The male builds the nest in the thick part of a bush or grassland and the nest is a small basket made of twigs and leaves, lined with hair, feathers and dry leaves. Both parents take turns incubating, caring for and feeding the chicks.

HABITAT

It prefers any kind of thin forest whose understory layer is well developed, especially if it is thorny. It also appears in the countryside, meadows, shrubby foothills, etc. It is found from sea level up to an elevation of 2,050 metres in Sierra Nevada.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is evenly distributed throughout the northern third of the peninsula, with specific concentrations in the Pyrenees, the Central System, the Montes de Toledo, and the Baetic and Subbaetic mountain ranges.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout all of the provinces, with significant concentrations in western and southern León, while it is less common in Soria and southern Valladolid.

Movements and migrations: It is a trans-Saharan migratory species, with wintering areas in the southern Sahara. Specimens in migration from central and western Europe reach the peninsula and Balearic Islands. The prenuptial passage takes place between March and June, and the postnuptial between August and early November.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of around half a million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: