IBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF RINGED IN EXTREMADURA

Author: Hugo J. Gómez-Tejedor Alonso (GIA-Extremadura). 
Translated by Martin Kelsey.

During a day’s ringing as part of the PASAR scheme by GIA-Extremadura, what could be the first breeding Iberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus) in Extremadura was caught. The bird was mistnetted on 5^th June 2013 at the PASER P-5005 station at La Lapa, in the southern-central part of Badajoz province, in shady-slope habitat dominated by woodland of cork oak, holm oak, honeysuckle, strawberry trees and other shrubs. The only regular breeding area for this species in Extremadura is in the south of Badjaoz province, in the Sierra de Tentudia. This new location is a northern extension of the range of the species in the province.

The trapped bird was an adult male, with a marked cloacal protuberance and characteristic plumage of bright green back with yellowish tinges and emargination on the sixth primary, and the second primary the same length as the seventh. The wing length, based on maximum chord was 55.5 mm, using the third primary 44 mm and the tarsus was 19.26 mm. These biometrics, along with weight of 7.4 g are within the species ranges based on observations in Doñana and Cádiz. The closest records to this site are at Burguillos del Cerro. There a male was singing on 21/03/2006 and on 02/04/2006 (Francisco Montaño com. pers.), although on date those records could have been a passage bird instead of a local breeder.

Given the recent split of Iberian Chiffchaff from Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), the breeding range of the former is not well known in the Iberian Peninsula in general and in Extremadura in particular. Thus this note advances our knowledge of the species in our region.

Literature

- Balmori, A.; Cuesta, M.A. & Caballero, J.M. 2002. Distribución de los mosquiteros ibéricos (Phylloscopus breehmi) y europeo (Phylloscopus collybita) en los bosques de ribera de Castilla y León (España). Ardeola 49: 19-27.
- Baker K.1997. Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa. Helm. London.
- Barros, D. & Ríos, D. 2002. Guía de aves del Estrecho de Gibraltar. Ornitur S.L. Cádiz.
- Bermejo, A. 2006. Programa PASER: más de diez años trabajando para la conservación de las aves. Revista de Anillamiento 13-14: 2-26.
- Onrubia, A.;  Arroyo, J.L.; Andrés, T.; Gómez, J.; Unamuno, J.M. & Zufiaur, F.   2003. El mosquitero ibérico (Phylloscopus ibericus): identificación, biometría y apuntes sobre su migratología. Revista de Anillamiento 12: 18-29 
- Prieta, J. & Mayordomo, S.  2011. Aves de Extremadura, vol. 4. SEO-Cáceres, Plasencia.
- Salomón, M.; Voisin, J.F. & Bried, J. (2003). On the taxonomic status and denomination of the Iberian Chiffchaffs. Ibis 145: 87-89.
- Svensson, L. 1996. Guía para la identificación de los passeriformes europeos. SEO/Birdlife. Madrid.
- Telleria, J.L.; Asensio, B. & Díaz, M. 1999. Aves Ibéricas vol. II.  Passeriformes.

THE IBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF IN EXTREMADURA

Possible Iberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus). Monfragüe, Cáceres, 29.09.2004 (by Javier Prieta). Some features and the date itself suggest this species though the field identification is not certain.

It just so happens that yesterday, 19 March 2012, the first Iberian Chiffchaff was recorded in Extremadura. Recently I was also approached about a future book on this species. So it now seems a good time to take stock of its Extremadura status ...

Iberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus) was hived off of as a separate species from Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) in 1996. The first certain Extremadura record of the brand new species then came in Plasencia (Cáceres) in April 1997, most likely a passage bird (Javier Prieta). The first probable breeding of the species was recorded in Piornal, Valle del Jerte, Cáceres, where a pair held territory in a mixed Scots Pine / Sweet Chestnut copse in 2001 and 2002 (J. Prieta). Also in May 2001 another male was heard singing in Torremenga, La Vera, Cáceres (Jesús Calle). In 2002 a small breeding population was found in Sierra de Tentudía, Badajoz (Javier Salcedo), after which there were more one-off observations of males singing in May and June in Toril (J. Prieta), Puerto de Miravete (Godfried Schreur) and La Garganta (Ricardo Montero), all in the province of Cáceres. The known breeding population, therefore, is restricted to a small nucleus in the Sierra Morena of Badajoz (Monesterio, Calera de León and Cabeza la Vaca) and isolated cases of singing males in May and June on the Cáceres side of the Gredos mountain range and in Monfragüe, without apparently forming stable populations. The Badajoz breeders, part of a population that spreads further south into northern Huelva, occupy mainly mixed pine populations and riparian copses (J. Salcedo). In view of their scarcity, however, and the difficulty of identifying them in the field (except by voice), a more widespread breeding population in Extremadura can by no means be ruled out.


In general, there is little information on Iberian Chiffchaff in Extremadura. By now a total of 142 birds has been recorded (Prieta et al., 2000; Prieta 2002 and 2007; Prieta and Mayordomo, 2011; monthly summaries of this blog); the pattern of these observations is plotted in the above graph. Breeding birds are shown in red while those recorded outside the breeding areas, assumed to be migrants, are plotted in blue. These show a bimodal pattern, with spring passage in March and April, almost always males singing, and return passage in August-October, on the basis of field identification, calls and some residual song. Some years, however, calls attributed to Iberian Chiffchaff are head until mid November (Sergio Mayordomo). The breeding areas, basically Tentudía, are occupied from March to September, numbers peaking in April, probably due to topping up by migrants (as also occurs in northern Huelva; Rafael Romero, pers. comm.). The much higher spring peaks shown in the graph are probably at least partly due to the greater likelihood of song-based detection in spring than in autumn.

References:
- Prieta, J. 2002. Aves de Extremadura, Vol. 2. 1999-2000. ADENEX. Mérida.
- Prieta, J. 2007. Aves de Extremadura, Vol. 3. 2001-2003. ADENEX. Mérida.
- Prieta, J., y Mayordomo, S. 2011. Aves de Extremadura, vol. 4. 2004-2008. SEO-Cáceres. Plasencia.
- Prieta, J.; Valiente, J. y Benítez, J. M. 2000. Aves de Extremadura, vol. 1, 1998. Adenex, Mérida.