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
Calandra Lark
Melanocorypha calandra
It inhabits almost all plains, whether they are cereal fields or moors of creeping herbaceous vegetation. After breeding, they gather in flocks, which in July and August, at the water points in the inland deserts of the Iberian Peninsula, show spectacular concentrations. During the mating season, the males fill the steppe with very varied and powerful songs that sometimes imitate those of other birds that share their habitat.
Canary Islands Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus canariensis
It is endemic to the Canary Islands and nests abundantly in the Park.
Cape hare
Lepus capensis
They are rodents that like wide, open places where they can run freely. They can be found in the mountains as well as on the plains or in more or less marshy areas. Its food base is practically vegetable, eating any of them and sometimes it can even eat decomposed meat. It is a very agile and fast animal. It has a peculiarity: its front legs have five toes, while its hind legs have only four. They breed several times a year, and their shy and gentle nature makes them easy to keep in captivity. In this case, their diet will not be a problem, as they eat all kinds of home-made food scraps. In Spain they can be found all over the Iberian Peninsula.
Carrion Crow
Corvus corone
This species is the most numerous of the black corvids. Its beak is short, broad, robust and black. Its jet black plumage is somewhat glossy. It is a very common bird, eating in open country and seeking wooded places to live and breed. It feeds on worms, insects, fruit, seeds and even carrion, being, along with magpies and crows, the first to arrive at the site of a dead animal. It breeds between March and June and lays 3 to 6 eggs.
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
A slightly smaller bird than the Little Egret, at about 50 centimetres, it is stockier and has a thicker neck. From a distance it appears white, but up close you can make out the reddish feathers on its throat and back, which become paler in winter, as well as its yellowish bill and dark legs. It is less aquatic than other herons and is often found among livestock in meadows, marshes or open fields. It nests in reed beds, on trees, on dry ground or on water, usually in colonies with other similar birds. It feeds on large insects, water beetles and amphibians.
Cetti’s Warbler
Cettia cetti
It can be found throughout the Spanish hydrographic network, with the exception of the torrential high mountain stretches. In the rest of the rivers and streams, it lives in the bushy and tangled network, always next to the water. It measures 14 centimetres and is difficult to see, although we know of its presence by its unmistakable song, between vibrating alarm and sudden explosion, hidden by dense vegetation. It breeds in nests located at the base of the vegetation and its diet is mainly insectivorous, supplemented by seeds and small wild fruits.
Chamois
Rupicapra pyrenaica
It inhabits the upper limits of subalpine forests and very close to glaciers and perpetual snow. It crosses snowy or icy stretches more safely than mountain goats and traverses with equal ease almost vertical walls, which are only accessible to them. They calve from May to June and from the very first moments the young show great agility in moving over rocks and snow.
Chough
Phyrrocorax phyrrocorax
It inhabits cliffs and rocky areas in high mountains and also cliffs and rocky outcrops near the sea. It always builds its nest on ledges, crevices or inaccessible caves. It measures 39 centimetres and feeds on larvae, caterpillars, snails, grasshoppers and spiders. It also feeds on some seeds, without being a danger to crops. There is a variety of Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax barbarus on the island of La Palma.
Cinereous Vulture
Aegypius monachus
It is one of the largest birds in the world with very dark plumage. It is less gregarious than the griffon vulture and is often seen alone or in small groups. Its wingspan can reach up to 2.90 m and it can weigh up to 12 kg. It mainly inhabits mountainous terrain and mountain forests. It is very abundant in dense scrubland with scattered trees. In Spain they are sedentary, but young birds that have learned to fly can fly far from their point of origin. It feeds on carrion of all types of animals that it finds flying alone or in small groups. They also share carcasses with griffon vultures when they are in clear terrain. Unlike the griffon vulture, they can descend to feed on land with dense vegetation, and if the carcass is very large, they return to finish it over several days. Its colonies are not very dense and it builds its nest on pine, holm oak and cork oak trees in the canopy to facilitate arrival and take-off. It is found in the southwest quadrant of the peninsula, reaching as far as the province of Ávila and also in Mallorca.
Cirl Bunting
Emberiza cirlus
The male’s plumage is more showy, with a yellow belly, greenish band on the breast, black throat, olive beret and eye tucked into a trio of yellowish and black markings. It lives in the bushes bordering crops and meadows. It is very common among the hedges of hawthorns, blackthorns and wild rose bushes, preferring sheltered places at the foot of hills. It feeds on vegetable seeds, wild flower seeds and also hunts insects in its surroundings.
Coal Tit
Parus ater
It nests in holes and tree trunks, is 12 centimetres long and feeds on insects, spiders, processionary caterpillars and any other invertebrate in the environment in which it lives. When animal food is scarce, it also eats pine nuts and seeds.
Collared Pratincole
Glareola pratincola
A very elusive bird, which flies away as soon as it sees danger. It is about 22 centimetres long and both sexes are the same, with a short, curved bill and black legs, and lives in ponds with poor vegetation and in perched areas.
Common Blackbird
Turdus merula
It is found everywhere: in scrubby forests in plains and mountains, on cultivated land and in urban parks and gardens. It is only absent from bare high mountain areas and grass steppes. It is 25 centimetres long and feeds on berries and fruit, insects and larvae of all kinds, snails and earthworms. It breeds from March to July in nests it builds in bushes and trees.
Common bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
It is one of the smallest cetaceans. As they are mammals, they breathe through their lungs, which forces them to come to the surface. They feed mainly on anchovies and sardines. They are great swimmers. They have their own language and make human-like sounds.
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
Bird of about 55 cm, they are easy to recognise in flight because of their silhouette. Their fur is very varied. They feed on small vertebrates, beetles and, on rare occasions, small birds. They can be seen in small groups. It lives on solitary rocky shores, scrubland, plains, hillsides and wooded and cultivated areas. It nests on rocky ledges, in trees and on stony ground.
Common Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
It is one of the most abundant fringillids in our country. It inhabits all types of forest, even the last black pines of the Pyrenean forests. It sometimes forms flocks organised by sex. It is 15 centimetres long and generally builds its nest very low in bushes or trees, where it breeds from April to July. It feeds on forest seeds and harmful insects, and is particularly useful because it destroys a large number of chrysalises to use the silk from their cocoons to line its nest.
Common Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita
They are usually solitary birds, although they are sometimes seen in pairs or trios. It is a very nervous and active bird. It observes and makes a very detailed survey of every corner of the trees it frequents in order to locate its small prey. It can sometimes be seen flying from its observation point in pursuit of mosquitoes. From April to July it builds its nest, which consists of a sphere of moss and grass, lined with feathers and with a side entrance. It lays 4 to 7 eggs. Frequents areas with some tree or shrub cover of varying thickness. In winter it is easy to see them in small parks and hedgerows. It is a protected species and the variety Phylloscopus collybita canariensis exists on the island of La Palma.
Common Crane
Grus grus
Of similar sexes, they nest on the ground and have a very withdrawn and elusive behaviour. It moves gracefully and slowly, and at any unidentified sound stretches its neck in alarm. They almost always perch on the ground and rarely perch in trees. When they migrate, they adopt a “V-shaped” formation, uttering piercing cries as they move. They breed on the ground in reed beds, marshes and frequent open ground, grasslands and steppes.
Common cuckoo
Cuculus canoris
It inhabits high altitude grasslands and mixed coniferous and broadleaved forests, preferably on the edge of the mountain, especially at mid-mountain levels. The female lays her eggs in the nests of other birds, one for each nest she parasitizes. When this egg hatches, the first thing the cuckoo hatchling does is to expel the offspring of the parasitised bird and claim for itself all the feeding desires of its adoptive “father”. Measuring 33 centimetres, it feeds almost exclusively on caterpillars, including processionary caterpillars, other insects and snails.
Common dolphin
Delphinus delphis
It is one of the smallest cetaceans. They are great swimmers and have the ability to leap high into the air. They are very playful and like to approach boats and make races, swimming very close to the bow, making undulating jumps. They eat sardines, anchovies and other fish. They are very intelligent animals, have a language of their own and make human-like sounds. They can be domesticated.
Common Firecrest
Regulus ignicapillus
It is a very active bird that never stops looking for insects in the forest. Although it is very nervous, it can be easily spotted at close quarters. It feeds on all kinds of insects and spiders, completing its diet with seeds and fruits. It camouflages its nest among the leaves of trees and lays 7 to 10 eggs, which are incubated by the female between April and June. It lives in any type of forest, evergreen or deciduous, also in copses and sometimes in parks and gardens.
Common genet
Genetta genetta
It belongs to the family of the vivérridae, and is one of the most agile and beautiful of the Spanish fauna, despite its disproportion, as its body is elongated and its legs are very short. Its skin is greyish and spotted with black polka dots. Its back is covered with stripes of the same colour, but in spite of this beauty, its skin is fortunately little appreciated in fur, as it gives off a strong pungent odour. In Spain, it is mainly found in the centre and north of the country, and also in smaller numbers in the Balearic Islands. It prefers humid and arid areas. They are nocturnal, hunt large and small rodents, birds, eat eggs, amphibious insects, reptiles and do not despise certain fruits. It has a bad temper and does not hesitate to bite at the slightest sign of fear, its ferocity means that it has practically no predators.
Common house martin
Delichon urbica
Cave colonies of this bird are abundant in many mountainous areas, up to an altitude of up to 2,500 m. It is a very sociable species. It is a very sociable species, often observed to execute its hunting movements and the return to the nests with a great deal of collective coordination. In summer, it is easy to see flocks of planes hovering at high altitude over the peaks of the sierras, attracted by the concentration of insects transported in the rising currents of warm air. Its diet is based on the insects it hunts on the wing, mainly flies and mosquitoes, although it also captures aphids and small beetles and butterflies. It is distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.
Common Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
It is one of the most common birds of prey in Spain and can be seen hovering at low altitude over any field. It weighs around 250 grams and although it prefers open terrain, it is also found in cleared woodland and urban environments close to humans. It hunts by hovering between 10 and 30 m with its tail fanned out for a minute or more, inspecting the terrain and moving on to another spot if it has had no luck in the previous one. It breeds alone and sometimes takes advantage of old nests of corvids, squirrels or other birds of prey. It is one of the most common birds of prey in Spain and can be seen hovering at low altitude over any field. It weighs around 250 grams and although it prefers open land, it is also found in cleared woodland and urban environments close to humans. It hunts by hovering between 10 and 30 m with its tail fanned out for a minute or more, inspecting the terrain and moving on to another spot if it has had no luck in the previous one. It breeds alone and sometimes takes advantage of old nests of corvids, squirrels or other birds of prey. It inhabits the whole peninsula, the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis
It is a very surly and distrustful bird, and can only be seen in detail on its perch, from where it watches the comings and goings of small fish. Its curious way of hunting consists of swooping over the water, from its perch, or hovering, flapping its wings over its target, to quickly leave with its prey in its beak if it has been successful. It feeds mainly on freshwater fry, up to 6 centimetres, frog-heads and toads, as well as aquatic beetles, snails, and waders. It can also hunt dragonflies and frigatebirds on the wing. To breed, it needs river courses, lakes, lagoons or marshes with clear water and banks with slopes or soft embankments to build its nest.
Common Linnet
Carduelis cannabina
It is a very gregarious bird. It is common to see flocks that in autumn, for example, gather in tree roosts with great fanfare. It has a peculiar and characteristic undulating flight. It feeds mainly on seeds, although it does not disdain some invertebrates. From April to July, it nests in all kinds of bushes. It builds its nest from dry grasses and moss. It lays 3 to 6 eggs, which are incubated by the female. Its habitat is river copses, open areas with high annual vegetation, forest areas, thickets, hedges and sometimes parks.
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
It has a strong resemblance to a hen, not only in appearance, but also in its gait. It is dark in colour, with a bluish head and chestnut chest, belly and flanks. It has a bright red frontal shield that covers half of its beak, with the rest yellow, and lives in waterlogged areas, ponds and ponds with little water. It prefers areas with abundant vegetation, preferably cattails. It adapts relatively well in areas with a small degree of pollution, and in places of waste and rubble where it looks for food. It makes its nest near water where it lays between 8 and 10 eggs. When the chicks hatch, the females abandon the nest, leave it in the care of the male and go off in search of another to lay a second clutch. When she succeeds, she will act in the same way, so that she can lay up to five clutches per season.
Common Murre
Uria aalge
This small alcid, once abundant along the entire Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, formed dense breeding colonies in the Atlantic Islands, especially in the Cíes archipelago, where the last pairs nested a couple of decades ago. Nowadays, guillemots are frequently present in winter throughout the National Park, although in spring they return to their breeding colonies in the North Atlantic.
Common Nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos
It is a solitary, hidden bird, with brownish plumage and bright song, which inhabits the bottom of mountain valleys, leafy woods and hedges and groves with abundant shrubbery. It is 17 centimetres long and builds completely camouflaged nests that are difficult to find. It is an eminently insectivorous bird that spends the winter in Africa.
Common Pochard
Aythya ferina
The position of the legs, set further back than in other related species, indicates that it is a diving bird. The male has a black breast, grey body and reddish-brown head and neck. The more inconspicuous female is brownish with light patches on the cheeks. Both have a black bill with a bluish band, preferring deep water in reservoirs and lagoons. During the breeding season, it seeks out areas with abundant vegetation where it builds its nest and forages for food. The chicks, at the slightest sign of alarm, run splashing through the water, but if they are very harassed, they do not hesitate to dive.
Common Quail
Coturnix coturnix
It looks very similar to the partridge, but is much smaller in size. It has a short, slow flight, which is difficult to lift during the breeding season. It is found in meadows, fields and pastures, rarely in open country.
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
Both sexes are the same, with a greyish upper body and head, and a lighter underparts. The bill and legs are red, and the obisepyle and a broad band on the back edge of the wing are white, found in ponds and waterlogged areas with little or no vegetation. It prefers muddy banks with abundant organic food. It feeds on small worms and larvae. It lays 3 eggs and the chicks, a few hours after hatching, leave the nest to hide among the existing vegetation, where their parents will go to feed them.
Common Redstart
Phoenicurus phoenicurus
It hunts while waiting, perched on a dominant point. Its diet is mainly of animal origin. It is a very beautiful bird, named for the reddish colour of its tail. The redstart needs trees to build its nest in all kinds of cavities: holes in trees, hollows in walls or buildings, and also in rocky recesses.
Common Reed Bunting
Emberiza schoeniclus
This bird lives in marshy places and breeds among the reeds, reeds or reed beds on the edges of lagoons or slow-flowing rivers. The female has reddish-brown plumage that blends in with its surroundings, while the male “shows off” a dark head with white neck feathers. They come to spend the winter from other European areas and roost among the reeds, where they are sometimes preyed upon by owls. They feed on the seeds of cattails and reeds, as well as cereals from nearby fields, to which must be added the aquatic arthropods that they hunt on the surface of the water, as well as insects and molluscs from the surrounding area.
Common Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceus
One of the warbler’s skills is to climb up reeds, which it does by grasping with its sturdy fingers and claws and shaking its way forward. It feeds on ants, field bugs and snails. The female is in charge of making the nest. A summer inhabitant of the reeds, it is also found in waterlogged areas and half-dried banks.
Common Rock Thrush
Monticola saxatilis
It inhabits medium and high mountain slopes, with areas of large boulders next to stretches of grass and scattered shrubs. As a result of the depopulation of valleys and villages, the red rock thrush colonises abandoned terraces and half-destroyed rural buildings. It is 19 centimetres long and feeds mainly on Orthoptera, as well as other insects, snails and even small batrachians. It breeds from May to June, in rock crevices.
Common sandpiper
Tringa hypoleucos
It can be seen alone or in small groups, although when it migrates, flocks are very numerous. It performs short flights at water level with strong flapping and keeping its wings arched. To rest, it perches on islands or floating wood. It feeds on insects, worms, spiders and small crustaceans. It nests from May to July, making its nest on the ground under the shelter of a bush very close to the water. It lays 4 eggs which are incubated by both parents. It is a protected species. It lives on the banks of rivers, marshes and lagoons. During migration it can also be found on coasts and beaches.
Common Scoter
Melanita nigra
It is about 48 cm long. The male is completely black with an orange spot on its beak and the female is dark brown with lighter cheeks. It feeds almost exclusively on molluscs and snails and builds its nest on the ground.
Common Shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
It is about 61 cm long. It is very brightly coloured, with white, red and black and a coral-coloured beak. It inhabits marine coasts and feeds on molluscs, crabs, worms and snails. It nests in burrows.
Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinago
There are no external differences between male and female. Its plumage is brown with dark stripes. The long, straight bill is the most characteristic feature of this bird, as it can reach a quarter of its total size. It lives in marshy, muddy areas and on the banks of reservoirs. It does not nest in Spain, although it is very easy to see it in winter and during the migration season. It feeds on mud worms and insect larvae.
Common Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
It lives in forests and parks as well as in the countryside or in inhabited areas. It is 22 centimetres long and is an undemanding species that thrives very well in close proximity to humans. It nests in small holes in trees and on the ground. It breeds from April to July and feeds on fruit, insects, snails and worms.
Common stonechat
Saxicola torquata
It is a typical bird of thickets with clearings, although it is very abundant throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Populations can be found from sea level to the Sierra Nevada. It consumes a large quantity and variety of insects. It lays two clutches a year.
Common Swift
Apus apus
They arrive at the end of April in towns and villages. Swift colonies settle to breed in buildings, taking advantage of hollows at a certain height. They also nest in crags and cliffs, and breeding in tree hollows is very rare in Spain. They spend the night flying at great heights. If they fall to the ground, they have a lot of trouble getting back up. It feeds only on what it catches in flight, generally flies, mosquitoes, small butterflies and beetles.
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Bird of about 36 cm, with no difference between sexes. Very elegant appearance, white, with a black area on the forehead, which disappears in winter. Very fine red beak, also with a black area at the tip. It has a very technical and graceful flight and feeds on fish, molluscs, crustaceans, worms and some insects. It nests on coastal beaches and also near fresh water between April and August. It lays 2 to 3 eggs, which are cared for by both parents.
Common Whitethroat
Sylvia communis
They are very cautious birds and therefore difficult to observe, but in the rutting season the warbler loses its shyness and can be seen performing dancing flights. It frequents open ground with low shrubs and grassy clearings, and likes thickets of hawthorns, brambles, genista, heather and box. It feeds on aphids, caterpillars, butterflies, ants, bumblebees, mosquitoes and flies, which it hunts voraciously, although it does not disdain cereals, blackberries and the fruits of hawthorns and blackthorns.
Common Wood Pigeon
Columba palumbus
It is larger than other pigeons. They often gather in large flocks in winter. It can be seen mixed with domestic pigeons and turtle doves, fleeing noisily in the face of any danger. It is very common in all areas and only requires the presence of trees and areas not too far north. It nests in trees, hedges and old nests.
Corn Bunting
Emberiza calandra
It is found in cultivated land and meadows, but also in uncultivated areas with roosting sites and open grassland. Examples of such sites include broom broom hills, reedbeds and grasslands near marshes. Groups of wheatears gather in large numbers on the winter roosts. They hunt a large number of insects to raise their young, and from their perch they swiftly pounce on beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies and caterpillars, among others.
Crested Lark
Galerida cristata
It is a plump, yellowish-brown bird with a noticeable pointed crest, which frequents roadside verges regardless of the bustle of traffic. It inhabits cultivated areas, olive groves, roadsides, roadsides and pastures. It feeds mainly on vegetables, although in spring and summer it eats insects, worms and molluscs.
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