Source: All information that you can read in this page, is from Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico del Gobierno de España. www.miteco.gob.es
Balearic Shearwater
Puffinus mauretanicus
It is endemic to the Balearic Islands, where it finds an ideal habitat for breeding. They have a single chick, which takes a long time to leave the nest as it grows very slowly. In November, the shearwaters migrate towards the Atlantic in search of places where fishing is more abundant.
Barbary Partridge
Alectoris barbara
Bird of about 33 cm. From a distance it is easy to confuse it with the common partridge, although it is paler in colour. Up close it can be distinguished by its chestnut collar and bluish-grey breastplate. It lives on scrub-covered slopes and areas with little vegetation but water and sheltered places.
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
It is a very popular bird that enjoys human sympathy, due to the belief that it is good luck for it to nest in the house. It builds its nests, attached to walls and beams of mud-based constructions, which it binds with saliva and fills with vegetables and feathers. It is a rural species although it can be seen in some cities. It hunts all kinds of insects by flying, often above water.
Bean Goose
Anser fabalis
It measures between 71 and 89 cm. It is brownish in colour, with a darker head, neck and back. Its beak has a central orange stripe and its legs are yellow-orange. It lives in taiga waters, and in winter moves to arable land, wide meadows and pastures. It feeds on tender cereals and all types of grass. It makes its nest on the ground.
Bearded Reedling
Panurus biarmicus
A bird that nests among reeds at low altitude and close to the water, about 16 centimetres long, both sexes are the same except for the black spots under the eyes of the male. During the nuptial stopover, they spread their tails in the shape of a fan. They lay 7 or 8 eggs, twice a year. Winter frosts and exposure to the sun in summer greatly affect their survival.
Bearded Vulture
Gypaetus barbatus
Aigüestortes Park is one of the most important places for the recovery of this endangered species, as it has a notable annual increase. In Spain it only nests in the pre-Pyrenean mountain ranges and in the Pyrenees, since the pair that nested in the Sierra de Cazorla in 1978 disappeared. Since then, the numbers here, in the Cantabrian Mountains and inland mountains correspond to isolated specimens of young birds in dispersion or without a pair. In the past, it used to nest in any mountain range with a ledge, cave or overhang where it could build its nest. It has a greater flight capacity than other large vultures due to its wingspan and light weight, which allows it to take advantage not only of thermals, but also of weak updrafts on hillsides. Thus, in Spain it has been seen flying at altitudes of over 3,000 metres in its movements through mountainous areas in search of food. Although it is able to climb a lot, it is also capable of travelling through mountain forests and any other terrain in its domain. Bones are considered to make up 90% of its diet, so when faced with carrion, it is a spectator, rather than an actor, watching other scavengers prepare its food. If the bones are very large and it cannot swallow them, it will break them up by dropping them from the air, in breakers not far from the nest. It builds nests of 175 centimetres in diameter and 80 centimetres in height, internally upholstered with hair and wool, in a variable number of 2 to 5 that are not far apart and which it occupies successively, probably so that the nests used in previous years can be dewormed. Currently the Spanish population, if not critical, is worrying due to its low numbers, although the interest of state bodies, associations and some private individuals has led to a situation of slow recovery.
Berthelot’s Pipit
Anthus berthelotii
Like all birds of the Motacillidae family, they are brownish in colour and there is no difference between the sexes. They are terrestrial birds that run and walk with great agility. They nest on the ground. The Anthus berthelotii berthelotii variety exists on the island of La Palma.
Black Kite
Milvus migrans
It inhabits forests with rivers and wooded areas near lakes and waterways. It measures 56 centimetres and, like the red kite, feeds on carrion, birds and small mammals. It nests in trees, sometimes taking advantage of corvid nests and sometimes socially in large trees. It lays its eggs between April and May.
Black Redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros
It inhabits all the cliffs and rocky areas of our mountain ranges. It is a rock bird that nests in holes and avoids foliage. They roam the rocks and cliffs with great dexterity and feed on insects, beetles, butterflies, etc., and in autumn on seeds and berries. In winter it colonises walls, corrals and houses all over the country.
Black Stork
Ciconia nigra
It is less sociable than the white stork and, unlike the latter, it flees from man, settling in little disturbed Mediterranean forests and in rocky areas next to rivers and reservoirs. They leave their breeding sites at the end of the summer and feed mainly on small vertebrates. It makes its nests in the forks of large trees, mainly pines and cork oaks.
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
It is about 24 cm long. It is blackish in colour with a black beak and legs. There is no difference between the sexes. In winter it changes its fur and the young then look very similar to the adults. It lives in inland waters with abundant vegetation. It feeds on insects, small amphibians and fish. It nests in scattered colonies and makes its nests in floating plants.
Black Woodpecker
Dryocopus martius
This elusive bird reaches relatively high densities in the deciduous formations and sessile pine forests of Aiguestortes Park, especially in forests where there are old trees. It measures 46 centimetres and lives in old forests in the Cantabrian-Pyrenean mountains. It lives solitary in the most secluded coniferous, broadleaf or mixed forests. It is difficult to see it because it has a very extensive breeding territory; however, its activity in the search for larvae can be recognised by the existence, at the foot of stumps, of large quantities of woodchips on the ground. It breeds from April to June in large holes in trees, often at a great height and with a diameter of around 20 centimetres. It feeds on ants and larvae of coleoptera and ants, although its diet is not fully known.
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Pterocles orientalis
It is a robust bird with very short legs and feathered toes. Its wings and tail are long and pointed. It flies very fast. It is found on arid moorland or stony ground. It makes its nests on the ground and is sedentary in Spain and Portugal.
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
It is a short-legged, stubby bird. It is nocturnal, spending the day hidden and inactive in trees. It inhabits overgrown marshes, wooded and open banks and marshes. Breeds in colonies with related species.
Black-eared Wheatear
Oenanthe hispanica
It inhabits stony deserts, the bare slopes of wadis and the walls separating meadows and clearings of Mediterranean scrubland. Before October, all the birds are in their sub-Saharan quarters. They feed on grasshoppers, butterflies, beetles, etc. and complete their diet with smaller prey such as flies, ants and spiders.
Black-headed Gull
Larus ridibundus
They are very gregarious. They move from roosts to feeding areas in flocks, adopting a “v” shape. Occasionally, they may nibble on the water to feed. It is not uncommon to see large groups taking advantage of human activities, whether at sea, in urban rubbish dumps or catching invertebrates left uncovered by tractors working the land. Between April and August, they build their nests in colonies, covered with vegetables, and both parents incubate the clutch, which usually consists of 3 eggs. They can be found in lakes, rivers, stagnant waters, rubbish dumps, ports, crops and urban areas with water bodies. It can be found both on the coast and inland.
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa
It is about 41 cm long. It is a large wader, with a very long yellow-orange bill, with a black final third. Of varied colouring, the female is more inconspicuous. It lives in damp meadows of tall grass and feeds on earthworms, grasshoppers, snails, tadpoles and insects. It makes its nest on the ground.
Black-winged kite
Elanus caerulus
It is a small bird of prey similar in size to the kestrel with a grey head and back. It inhabits wood pastures and land with isolated trees. It feeds on reptiles and small mammals, ground birds and large insects. It breeds on holm oaks and low trees and builds a new nest every year. Since the 1980s it has been an expanding species that nests and breeds in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Long-legged red-legged wading bird, with an average length of 37 centimetres. Very similar male and female, it lives in ponds and puddles and builds its nest on the ground. During the breeding season it becomes aggressive and tries to deter attackers by flying over them and uttering monotonous cries.
Blue Rock Thrush
Monticola solitarius
It inhabits the bare mountain slopes and all the cliffs and walls of the country, even at sea level. It is an elusive and skittish bird, a friend of the sun and the rock. It feeds on butterflies and orthopterans, which it watches over from a rock as a roost, and is also seen in meadow areas in search of insects, caterpillars and snails on the ground. In autumn and winter it completes its diet with seeds and fruits. It breeds from April to June, in nests built in the crevices of rocks, cliffs or buildings.
Bonelli’s Eagle
Hieraeteus fasciatus
It is about 70 centimetres long and weighs an average of 1800 g. It usually builds its nest in cliffs of considerable altitude, in a crevice or platform, where it breeds. When young, its plumage is reddish-brown, turning dark on the back and striated white on the chest and belly in adults. It feeds mainly on small birds, although it sometimes hunts rabbits and hares.
Booted eagle
Hieraeteus pennatus
Of all the Spanish eagles, it is the smallest, with a maximum length of 55 centimetres. It inhabits cleared woodland or isolated copses, copses, etc. It migrates to Africa in August and September. It hunts like the goshawk, perching at the edge of a forest or within it, from different perches, mainly reptiles and birds. It is present throughout the Iberian Peninsula except in Galicia, Mallorca and Menorca.
Boreal Owl
Aegolius funereus
Holarctic species, native to the taiga of Eurasia and North America. In Europe it is found in all areas where there are dense subalpine coniferous forests. In the Pyrenees there was no reference to the presence of this species until 1964, when a nest was found in a region of the French Cerdanya. Subsequently, a more careful search led to the detection of its presence in practically all the subalpine forests of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. We can therefore say that, although it is not an abundant species – it is estimated that there are currently around 50 pairs -, it is widely distributed. In the Pyrenees it lives in all old subalpine coniferous forests with black pine and/or fir, between 1650 and 2200 metres above sea level, where it can find nest holes. The undergrowth must not be excessively developed, as it needs clearings in which to capture its prey, consisting of small rodents.
Brown bear
Ursus arctos
Omnivorous mammal and plantigrade, almost 1 metre long. It has a large head with small eyes and strong limbs with nails and a powerful body covered with strong, abundant hair. It is a marauding animal, feeding on all kinds of vegetables and fish. They eat abundantly during the summer, accumulating fat to survive during the winter, which they spend lethargically.
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