Alpine accentor

    Prunella collaris

Castilian: Acentor alpino

Catalan: Cercavores

Gallego: Azulenta alpina

Euskera: Mendi-tuntuna

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Prunellidae

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 the construction of mountain infrastructure alters its habitat, the organic scraps that tourists leave increase its food supply and help it better survive the winter. Climate change could be a problem in the near future.

Length / size: 15-17 cm / 30-32,5 cm

Identification: Bird that is larger than the common accentor whose legs are pale and whose bill is yellowish at the bast. Its back is reddish-brown, its head and breast are slate grey, its flanks and belly are reddish with whitish stripes, its wing coverts are dark brown with some white spots that form faint bands, and its white throat is striped in black when the bird's plumage is new.

Song: It makes a varied and booming trill, a "dree-dree-dreep".

Diet: It feeds on invertebrates that it catches on the ground and in snowfields where they remained trapped by the ice; in cold months it eats seeds, pine nuts and some fruits, and it can also eat food scraps left by humans.

Reproduction: Because it is a mountainous bird, its breeding period begins later, in June. The nest is positioned on a ledge, or in a crack or hole in a rocky wall or structure, or even sometimes on the ground; it is made of roots, grass and leaves lined with hair and feathers. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks.

HABITAT

It occupies scree and rocky areas with patches of vegetation, such as prairies and scrubland with brooms and common junipers. It approaches mountain huts and ski stations to look for food. It usually breeds between altitudes of 1,800 and 3,400 metres, although in winter it can move to lower areas.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: When breeding, it is only distributed in alpine and subalpine areas of the principal mountain ranges, concentrated in the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa; when wintering, its distribution is wider and it appears in mountainous areas at lower altitudes.

In Castile and León: When breeding, it is present at the highest elevations: Sierra de Gredos (Ávila), Cantabrian Mountains (León-Palencia), Montes de León (León), mountains of Neila (Burgos) and Guadarrama (Segovia) and Picos de Urbión (Soria); when wintering, it appears in rocky limestone places at medium elevation: Hoces del Riaza (Segovia), mountains of La Culebra (Zamora), Moncayo (Soria) and Hoces del Alto Ebro-Rudrón (Burgos), among others.

Movements and migrations: Part of the European population is resident, moving to lower areas to spend the winter; the other part is migrant, moving to southern European countries or even northern Africa. The autumn migration takes place in October, and in April they return to their breeding areas.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 17000-20000 breeding pairs (1997 data).

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of less than 1000 breeding pairs.