Birds in Spain Blog

José Luís Anguita found an unusual bird at La Rocina stream, Doñana, Huelva, Spain the last 28 December 2019. It recalled a Robin ( Erithacus rubecula ) but it lacked its usual reddish bib and looked overall greyish-bluish. Initially the observer went shocked when the found the bird: Lo encontré en el arroyo de La Rocina, Huelva, el pasado 28 de Diciembre de 2019. Podrás imaginar el susto. .../... The bird remained at its site from 28-30.12.2019. And beyond an aberration in a Robin coloration, he wondered if those bluish tones may have something to deal with some kind of hybridization with another species. Indeed, as he pointed out regarding a previous observation of a bird in the UK this bird is a ‘Grey’ schizocroism mutation affecting one of the species pigments, the phaeomelanin. And the bird is indeed a Robin ( Erithacus rubecula ). As Van Grouw (2006) -excerpt below- stated in his clàssic reference on colour aberrations ( Not every white bird is an al...

On 11 May 2015 José Luís Anguita observed and photographed what seemed a milk & coffee Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca within a Seville, Andalusia, urban park. He took three photos (attached) and he described the sighting as follows: Ayer encontré este papamoscas en un parque de Sevilla capital. Lo di por hembra de cerrojillo y no me fijé en su vuelo ocupado con las fotos...pero al verlas parece atípico. No sabemos si leucístico o alguna otra especie. Su ojo no es oscuro si te fijas, y es muy pálido.  ' I saw yesterday this flycatcher in a Seville park. I gave it as a female Pied and I did not pay attention to its flight as I was concentrated in taking the pictures... but once I saw them it seems atypical. We don't know if its a leucistic or another species. Its eye is not dark and it's very pale' All 3 photos © J.L.Anguita   Once checked the photos it seems that the bird is pale indeed and that the colour is not bleached-related (feathers see...

On 13.1.2015 an odd redstart was seen at Laguna de Fuentedepiedra, Málaga (Andy Paterson). It was initially thought to be a bird from an Oriental race of the Black Redstart ( Phoenicurus ochruros ), which show some reddish vent and underparts as in the photographed bird. However, after a careful observation, and after reading the paper by Laurens B Steijn from 2005 at Dutch Birding which is available online ( the full issue at issu online reader here ), it was clear that it might be something else. Despite the wing structure was not visible in any of the three photos, there was a clear white wing pannel and a wide and long white patch in the vent and middle of the breast, pointing towards an hybrid  ochruros x phoenicurus rather than an oriental race of ochruros . Find enclosed three photos from Andy Paterson of this, in any case, interesting and beautiful bird. Citation: Paterson, A. 2015 Presumed hybrid Phoenicurus ochruros x P.phoenicurus at Málaga, January 20...

Larus audouinii juv, G28273 en el puerto de Málaga © Salvador García, 10.8.2013 El 10.8.2013 Salvador García pudo observar en el puerto de Málaga (Lat_ddeg    36.708, Lon_ddeg -4.422) un juvenil anillado con anilla metálica de gaviota de Audouin ( Larus audouinii ). Mediante paciencia y telescopio, se pudo leer la anilla metálica que portaba la gaviota, resultando ser la G28273 del remite Aranzadi, usado en Catalunya en 2013.  El ejemplar viajero de Audouin resultó haber sido uno de los anillados en la colonia del 'Antic Estany del Port', en la Zona Franca de Barcelona , el 17.6.2013 (41°20'N,   2° 8'E), a 766 km de distancia a 229,84º en linea recta. Y es el primero que se controla fuera de la zona de esta colonia establecida en 2013.  Primer control de una gaviota nacida en la colonia de Barcelona: casi dos meses después, en el puerto de Málaga, a más de 700 km de distancia en línea recta. Se da la circunstancia que se marcaron 52 pollos e...