Eurasian bullfinch

    Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Castilian: Camachuelo común

Catalan: Pinsà borroner

Gallego: Cardeal

Euskera: Gailupa

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Fringillidae

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

It is displaced when beech and oak forests are replaced by pine and eucalyptus trees. Also, forest and brush clearing are affecting it because it nests in that environment.

Length / size: 14,5-16,5 cm / 22-29 cm

Identification: Stout bird with significant sexual dimorphism. Both sexes' heads are black, just like their tails, which have a transverse white stripe. The male is unmistakeable because of the intense red colour of his cheeks, breast and belly; the female's colouration consists of duller ochre tones.

Song: It makes a simple and high-pitched "feeoo feeoo feeoo" call.

Diet: It food sources are seeds of fleshy and dry fruits, such as ash tree fruit. In summer it also feeds on insects and in winter it consumes a large quantity of leaf buds from fruit trees and wild deciduous trees such as birches, ashes and alders.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in April. The female positions the nest among the branches of perennial trees and she builds it using thin branches and lichens. She also incubates the eggs, but it is the male that is responsible for feeding the female and chicks.

HABITAT

It prefers mixed forests, beech groves and cleared areas that alternate with pastureland.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It breeds throughout practically all of the northern third of the peninsula, from Galicia to the Pyrenees and the western part of Gerona. In winter, its distribution is extended to any wooded area.

In Castile and León: It is distributed primarily throughout the Cantabrian Mountains (León, Palencia and Burgos), and it also breeds in Zamora. During winter it is present in thickets in all of the provinces.

Movements and migrations: It is a partially migratory or sedentary species. In the northern half it descends to the lower altitudes during winter.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 3.2 to 15 million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 8500 breeding pairs.