Birds in Spain Blog

    L’Albufera de València está pletórica estos días. Un goce para todos los sentidos de cualquier persona que disfrute de la ornitología. Lástima que semejante joya y destino invernal de decenas de miles de aves en nuestro territorio tenga que sufrir tantas amenazas como la caza indiscriminada de aves acuáticas dentro de una gestión política que deja mucho que desear.  Observaba la mañana del lunes 9.2.2021 a distancia prudencial desde dentro de mi coche un bando de ocho cigüeñas negras (Ciconia nigra) , espectacular especie cuyo número de ejemplares invernantes va en aumento año tras año por estas lindes, cuando mi mirada recayó en una garza de extraño aspecto.  Decidí tomarle unas fotos y el ave desapareció de mi vista por las ondulaciones del terreno. Hice unas fotos “de retrovisor” (móvil a pantalla de la cámara) y consulté en un grupo donde hay grandes conocedores de la avifauna y de la zona.  Yo pensaba que se podía tratar de una garza real con leucis...

O n 30 April 2016 a presumed hybrid Barn Swallow ( Hirundo rústica ) x House Martin ( Delichon urbicum ) was trapped and ringed at Algar river, Altea, Alacant (Toni Zaragozí, Gaspar Gosálbez).  The bird, showing intermediate characters between both hirundines, had the following measurements: Wing (màximum chord): 111 mm P3: 84 mm Weight: 15 gr Fat score: 0 Age : Euring 4   Ed .comment: The bird presented a whitish,albeit spotted, rump and, to be an adult or nearly so, th e typical throat patch of H irundo rustica was rather dull. The tail was also short des pite wings pan was closer to H ir undo than to De lichon . Hyb rids between both species hav e been described. McCarthy (2006) Ha ndbook of Avian Hybrids of the W orld , reports the existance of h ybrids widely reported from Russia and Scan dinavia to Zam bia. Hyb ridi zation mig ht occur over the entire broad region of sympatry but at low levels (less th...

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...

On 20 November 2014 a female presumed hybrid Ferruginous x Tufted Duck was seen at Cal Tet lagoon, Llobregat Delta, El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona (Ricard Gutiérrez, Ferran López, C.Llopis). The record appears in the 'Novetats Ornitològiques' Consorci Delta del Llobregat blog as follows: Aythya nyroca x Aythya fuligula Morell xocolater x Morell de plomall - Ferruginous Duck x Tufted Duck  1 ex. suposadament híbrid a cal Tet el 20.XI (R. Gutiérrez, F. López, C. Llopis). L'exemplar mostra característiques de les dues espècies: cap rectangular i plomall amb tons axocolatats, plomes del pit color xocolata, infracobertores caudals i posteriors de color blanc, flancs de color xocolata brut, etc... Ferran López, observer of the bird and manager of the blog quoted (see above in catalan): 'The bird shows characters of both species: rectangular head and the tuft with chocolate tones, brown tones in the breast, white undertail and rear coverts, dirty chocolate f...