Pied flycatcher

    Ficedula hypoleuca

Castilian: Papamoscas cerrojillo

Catalan: Mastegatatxes

Gallego: Papamoscas negro

Euskera: Euli-txori beltza

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Muscicapidae

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

The elimination of mature and dense forests, which entails the loss of old trees that this bird needs for nesting, is the primary threat. Problems with habitat fragmentation, which causes the isolation of the populations due to their irregular distribution, can also occur.

Length / size: 12-13 cm / 21,5-24 cm

Identification: Small bird with a compact body whose eyes, legs and bill are black. During mating season, the male's back is black or dark brown, his underparts are white, and he has a white spot on his forehead and a long white panel on his wings. During the rest of the year, males and females are identical: their back is brown and underparts ochre-coloured.

Song: It is a loud, rhythmic song with sudden changes in pitch. Its alarm call is a short, metallic, repetitive "peek-peek-peek".

Diet: It feeds on flying insects that it catches in flight or by diving from a perch; sometimes it snatches them up from tree leaves.

Reproduction: Breeding begins at the end of April, when the male chooses his territory. The female prepares a simple nest made of rockrose or pine bark and dry grass, and she places the nest inside a hollow tree or a nesting box. The female incubates the eggs, but the chicks are fed by both parents. Polygamous relationships are common.

HABITAT

It occupies mature and thick wooded areas, such as oak and pine groves, with good shrub cover and that are close to water.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the principal mountain chains, such as the Iberian and Central Systems, the Cantabrian Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Morena, and some parts of Levante, the Pyrenees, and the Pre-Pyrenees.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout all the provinces, although it is less common in Zamora, Salamanca, and souther Soria and Valladolid. The most significant populations are found in the Picos de Europa mountains (León) and the Urbión-La Demanda mountains (Burgos-Soria, and in Guadarrama (Segovia).

Movements and migrations: It is a trans-Saharian migratory species, with wintering areas in tropical Africa.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 130000-350000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 1500-1800 breeding pairs.