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
Razorbill
Alca torda
It is about 41 cm long, its beak is flattened on the sides and has a white transverse line and another that goes from the top of the beak to the eye. In winter its fur is white, which makes the young at this time of year very similar to the adults, although they lack the beak markings. It is a gregarious bird, constantly diving in search of food, based on fish and crustaceans. It inhabits coastal and offshore waters. During the breeding season it moves to the cliffs. It breeds in colonies with other alcids and lays a single egg.
Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
It lives in montane coniferous forests, mainly in fir and pine forests. The ground with numerous open pine cones reveals the presence of this fringillid in the area. It measures 17 centimetres and eats conifer seeds, which it searches for by wandering from forest to forest, depending on the fruiting date of these trees. It breeds in conifers, on the most favourable dates from a food point of view.
Red fox
Vulpes vulpes
With a reddish coat of different shades, they are therefore called “carboneros”, “rubios”, etc. according to the different shades of their dense and long hair. It measures about seventy centimetres, without the tail. Although it is very widespread and lives all over the peninsula, it prefers places with little human influence. They eat everything: mammals, birds, beetles, etc. At the end of winter they go into heat and start fights to get the female, which can cause them great injuries.
Red Kite
Milvus milvus
It inhabits wooded formations of all types, river copses and occasionally in open fields with some trees. It measures 61 centimetres and needs less water than the black kite. It is a bird that likes carrion, although it also hunts small birds and mammals, up to the size of a hare. It breeds in the bushes of the forest it inhabits, but prefers pine trees on which it builds its nest at a height of between 5 and 20 metres above the ground.
Red-billed Chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
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.
Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator
Bird about 58 cm. The male is more conspicuous than the female. It is mainly a seabird, although during the breeding season it moves to areas of lakes and rivers with vegetation, where it makes its nests among heather, undergrowth and rocks.
Red-crested Pochard
Netta rufina
Anatidae with very bright and vivid colours. The male has a reddish-brown head and neck, a bright red bill, white flanks and the rest of the body is black. The iris is also red and the overall plumage has a fluffy, fluffy appearance. The female, more discreet in appearance, has brown fur and light cheeks, with red patches on its bill, occupying open water in winter, while in the breeding season it seeks out areas with thick vegetation. A curious fact about this species is that during the moulting season, males and females separate to form large groups.
Red-knobbed Coot
Fulica cristata
It is about 41 cm long. It can be distinguished from the rest of the coots by two small red protuberances on the upper part of the frontal plate. It builds its nest in masses of floating vegetation in shallow water. It feeds on submerged roots and stems, seeds, grains and does not disdain larvae and aquatic insects.
Red-legged Partridge
Alectoris rufa
It is a short-tailed, bare-legged gallinaceous bird. It nests on the ground, and although it can be found in marshy areas, it prefers dry, sandy, limestone and stony places. It is distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
Red-necked Nightjar
Caprimulgus ruficollis
The best time to watch the aerial evolutions of these birds is in the hours of light and shade, at dusk and dawn. If you are lucky enough to see it during the day, when it rests sleepily on the ground, you will see that its plumage blends in perfectly with the surrounding environment. It feeds on nocturnal butterflies. It inhabits stands of stone pines and undergrowth of holm oaks, broom and rockroses.
Red-rumped Swallow
Hirundo daurica
Bird of about 20 cm. It is very similar to the barn swallow, although its wings are less pointed and its tail is shorter. It lives in Mediterranean forests, rocky areas, cliffs and very rarely in inhabited areas. It feeds on insects, which it hunts in flight. It is a solitary bird, although in post-breeding periods they can be seen forming groups. They build their nest in caves, crags or bridges, which they make with mud, forming a half-ball with an entrance tube. It lays 4 to 6 eggs.
Ring Ouzel
Turdus torquatus
It feeds mainly on insects, although in autumn and winter it eats berries and fruits. It breeds in high mountain forests and crosses the Mediterranean to spend the winter in warmer areas.
Rock Bunting
Emberiza cia
A common species that can be found on stony slopes, both in high mountains and on flatter terrain, on the slopes of ravines or in cleared pine forests. It forages for food by hopping through the grasses that grow between stones and bushes, feeding on the grains of a wide variety of plants that it collects and extracting their seeds. It also hunts insects among the vegetation on the rocks.
Rock ptarmigan
Lagopus mutus
It is one of the few species able to moult entirely in plumage, as one of the most spectacular adaptations as a defence against predators, as it goes unnoticed both in summer pastures and on winter snows. The back of the chest, belly and legs are white. In winter, all of it is white except for the black feathers. They have a striking nuptial flight, in small groups, outside the breeding season. It lives in mountainous areas above the arboreal region and builds its nest on the ground, where it lays between 4 and 11 eggs. It feeds on leaves, buds and berries.
Rock Sparrow
Petronia petronia
Its plumage is very similar to that of the female house sparrow. It forms small colonies in gorges and cliffs, next to vultures and jackdaw and chough nests. They can also be seen on towers, walls and roofs of many villages. It feeds mainly on grain, although it does not disdain spiders and insects, which it even hunts on the wing. During the breeding season, in forest areas, it consumes large quantities of harmful insects.
Roe deer
Capreolus capreolus
It is a very shy animal that, at the slightest hint of danger, makes a swift dash for it. When it runs through the forest, its white buttocks and light-coloured inner legs stand out and identify it from afar. They have a varied diet and eat almost anything vegetable, from acorns and beech fruits to tender shoots, grasses and, in times of need, almost dry bark and twigs. It is a widespread animal that occupies most of Europe. It prefers wooded hills.
Ruff
Philomachus pugnax
It is about 30 cm long, the female being slightly smaller. Its nuptial display is very striking, resembling a fight. It inhabits wet meadows with low grass, marshes and mudflats. It feeds on insects, crabs, molluscs and snails. It makes its nest on the ground.
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