Spain is renowned by tourists worldwide for boasting a vast array of both natural and cultural attractions. From balmy beaches to the great Pyrenees Mountains, exquisite architecture and delectable cuisine, there is much to admire across this expansive nation. However, in European birding circles, Spain is often revered for boasting a large variety of bird species, including a handful of localized and sought-after specials.
The monotypic Wallcreeper is one of the many avian highlights that can be seen in Spain.
Together with Portugal, Spain makes up the Iberian Peninsula, which, biogeographically, is a notable region of endemism, with a number of animals and plant species found nowhere else in the world. In terms of birdlife, this includes the magnificent Spanish Imperial Eagle, as well as the Iberian Green Woodpecker and the attractive Iberian Magpie. A number of other Iberian target species also extend south into Morocco and Tunisia, and most of these “near-endemics” are easily sought in Spain. Among these are things like Black and Western Black-eared Wheatear, Western Swamphen and a variety of warblers, all of which are targeted on our Spain birding tours.
While these species are the main drawcards for any birders visiting the region, Spain is also home to a selection of more widespread species that are just as, if not more, desirable and venerated, be it for their looks, scarcity or unique behavioral traits. In this blog, I will be going through our picks for the top 10 bird species Spain has to offer with regards to both endemic species and iconic global species that any avid birder would be thrilled to see while visiting the country!
1) Spanish Imperial Eagle – The Pride of the Iberian Sky
There is no other way to start this list than by discussing the most quintessential and iconic bird to be found in Spain. With its powerful build and two-meter wingspan, it is little wonder why the Spanish Imperial Eagle is said to be Spain’s unofficial national bird. Furthermore, this majestic raptor is the most range-restricted of the Iberian endemics, being almost solely confined to central and southern Spain with a few pairs also breeding in eastern Portugal. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the Spanish Imperial Eagle is the most famous and desired of all Spain’s birds, a perfect blend of being both visually iconic and a localized, regional centerpiece.
The Spanish Imperial Eagle is a large and robust raptor, weighing roughly 7.5 pounds (3.5 kilograms) on average. This ties it with Australia’s Wedge-tailed Eagle as the third largest eagle in the Aquila genus after the Golden Eagle and Verreaux’s Eagle, respectively. In appearance, it is reminiscent of the former, with a dark, blackish-brown body and a buffy-blonde nape and hindneck. This, coupled with the extensive white spattering on its shoulders, also differentiate it from the smaller Eastern Imperial Eagle of central Asia and eastern Europe, with which it was formerly lumped as one species.
Currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, the Spanish Imperial Eagle is quite a conservation success story. In the 1960s the total population was down to as low as 30 pairs, largely due to collisions with powerlines and poisoning of carcasses by farmers. However, currently, the estimate sits at around 540 pairs total, credited to great conservation efforts from the Spanish government. As a result, it is now a reliable target on our Spain birding tours and can be seen anywhere from Burgos down to Spain’s southernmost tip at Tarifa.
The king of the Spanish sky: the Spanish Imperial Eagle!
2) Iberian Magpie – The Blue-winged Partier
While most know corvids to be ubiquitous, mostly black, suburban nuisances, European birders know that Spain hosts one species that is pretty atypical in a number of ways. The Iberian Magpie is a supremely handsome member of the family, being a far cry from the ever-present Eurasian Magpie in both appearance and distribution. The combination of its jet-black cowl, white throat, beige-grey body and lovely blue wings and tail give it a sense of style that rivals that of the neotropical jays, in our unbiased opinion! While it is not lacking in the looks department, the Iberian Magpie also appeals with its localization, being yet another endemic to the Iberian Peninsula alongside the Spanish Imperial Eagle. While seemingly more common and extending further into Portugal than the eagle, it is nonetheless a major target on our Spanish birding tours and is nearly always a highlight species for any birder visiting the region.
The Iberian Magpie is mostly found in the dry, scrubby steppes of southern Spain and Portugal. They are highly gregarious, often forming family groups that noisily bumble their way through open woodlands, thickets and gardens across the region. Unlike their black-and-white congeners, they are rather wary of people and are quick to dash into cover when they feel threatened. While this unique bird is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, it bears a near-identical counterpart, the Azure-winged Magpie, that is native to far east Asia. These two species were once lumped as one, but the oddly large gap between the two populations contributed heavily towards their eventual split as separate species. The latter species differs only in having a paler body, and is a target on both our Sichuan Birding tour in China and our Japanese Winter Birding tour.
Groups of Iberian Magpies are often seen flying across the road while driving through southern Spain.
3) Red-necked Nightjar – The Nocturnal Nomad
Among all the bird families of the world, nightjars have always been a favorite of ours. Their nocturnal lifestyle, exquisite camouflage and rich, churring and scolding songs all add to their appeal, and Spain’s Red-necked Nightjar is no different. This bird is the only other nightjar species to breed in Europe aside from the widespread European Nightjar, and differs from that species by its larger size, buffy spotting and pale rufous neck collar from which it gets its name. It also has a very different song to the latter species, a series of choppy, popping notes given in pairs, as opposed to the constant churring of the European Nightjar.
In terms of range, the Red-necked Nightjar breeds in the scrubby steppes of southern Iberia and northwest Africa, migrating down to the western Sahel in winter. While reliably sought across most of southern Spain during summer, they are generally scarce and never abundant. To add to this, much of their non-breeding range is found from Mauritania through to southern Mali and Burkina Faso, hence why Spain is the best locale to connect with this nighttime nomad. They tend to arrive in Spain later than most migratory breeders, and can be seen (and heard) performing their fluttery display flights all through the summer.
In terms of size, the Red-necked Nightjar is the heaviest of the Caprimulgus nightjars, averaging just a few grams more than the Freckled Nightjar of Africa. This helps to differentiate them from the many similar nightjar species found across sub-Saharan Africa. While they are rarely encountered on their non-breeding grounds, Red-necked Nightjars can occasionally be found in northern Senegal, where they occur alongside the beautiful Golden Nightjar, a major target bird of this region.
Like many other nightjar species, Red-necked Nightjars are often encountered when driving dirt roads at night (photo Olivença).
4) Citril Finch – The Petit, Alpine Rambler
Moving away from the open-country species, we now come to a species which we believe to be underrated by most birders. Although it is found in populous places like Germany, France and, of course, Spain, the Citril Finch is by no means a common bird, being largely restricted to the coniferous forests of the Pyrenees and southern Alps, with small populations also present in the lower ranges of central Spain. The Sierra de Gredos and Sierra de Guadarrama are two such ranges, the former being where we look for Citril Finch on our Spring Birding Extravaganza tour.
Unlike many other finches, Citril Finches are not very gregarious, normally being seen in pairs or small groups of four or five. Aggregations over 20 are rare and usually correlate with an abundance of seeding plants, especially grasses and pine trees. They are mostly arboreal but regularly spend time foraging on the ground, particularly in forest clearings. Although superficially resembling a canary in appearance, the Citril Finch is more closely related to the European Goldfinch. The adults are predominantly greenish-yellow with a grey hindneck and two black wing bars. While not a canary itself, the Citril Finch’s color scheme has been replicated on a number of Serinus canaries from different parts of the world, with an uncanny degree of accuracy. These are namely the Syrian Serin of the Middle East and the Cape Canary of southern Africa. Even closer than that, the Citril Finch has a cousin, the Corsican Finch, endemic to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. These two species were once lumped as one, and look nearly identical, apart from the latter’s browner back and more structured song.
A typical view of a Citril Finch, perched atop a pine tree in the mountains.
5) Wallcreeper – The Rosy-winged Cliff Scaler
One of the most iconic birds in the world with some fascinating behavioral traits, Spain is one of the many countries lucky enough to host this rock-climbing beauty. Famous for its brilliant, painted wings and habit of creeping along vertical rock faces, the Wallcreeper is found across the bulk of Eurasia’s great mountain ranges, from the Pyrenees in the west to the Tibetan Plateau in the east. While it is not confined to Spain, it is sure to be a major target species for any birder wishing to visit Spain’s northern mountains.
As one could expect, the bizarre Wallcreeper has been the subject of taxonomic debate over the years, with some experts placing them in the treecreeper and others in the nuthatch family. The most recent consensus is that the Wallcreeper has been placed in its own family, making one of the 35 monotypic bird families currently recognized by AviList. While they are resident across their range, they do exhibit altitudinal movement depending on the season. In summer, they breed at high altitude, normally between 3,300-9,800 feet (1,000-3,000 meters) in Europe but up to 16,500 feet (5,000 meters) in the Himalayas. They then descend to lower altitudes in winter where they can often be found in quarries and even on buildings. Wallcreepers tend to show a degree of site fidelity, and are known to regularly return to the cathedrals of Brittany and Normandy, France, during the winter months.
Throughout the year, Wallcreepers defend feeding territories from others of their kind, normally comprising of a single large massif or cliffside. They move up and down the rock faces in jerky, staccato hops, often while repeatedly flicking their stunning wings. Male Wallcreepers also develop a black throat patch during the breeding season which helps to distinguish them from the females.
Wallcreepers are most impressive when seen in flight.
6) Dupont’s Lark – The Cryptic Ground Creeper
While this next bird may share the long, slender bill of the Wallcreeper, it is vastly different in almost every way. The steppes of Spain are home to a myriad lark species, and birding the meadows and farmlands across the country, as we do on our Spain birding tours, can deliver at least eight different species. However, Dupont’s Lark alone, stands out as being one of the most sought-after, and stubborn, larks in the world. Dupont’s Lark is thinly distributed across north Africa and Iberia, being mainly concentrated on the plains of central Morocco and Aragon in northeast Spain. Like many larks, it is quite understated in its appearance, its most outstanding feature being its slender, slightly downcurved bill which it uses to dig through sandy substrate for invertebrates.
Already having a patchy distribution, the task of seeing Dupont’s Lark is made even more challenging by their secretive nature. They are notoriously shy and will swiftly run for cover from any suspected threat. Their inclination for longer grass and for running, rather than flying, from danger, all add to the trouble of finding them! Fortunately, Dupont’s Larks have a distinctive, albeit soft, song, which they regularly sing out from a low rock or during high, aerial display flights (sometimes taking place at night). Less intricate than the songs of other larks in the area, it is merely a short, repeated phrase of thin, nasal whistles, normally sung at dawn. Listening out for this song along the road through Hoces del Duraton National Park, as well as in the steppes surrounding Zaragoza, is inevitably one’s best bet at trying to locate this most elusive of LBJs
Dupont’s Lark is currently listed as Vulnerable due to a 30% population decline over the last decade (photo Carles Pastor).
7) Bearded Vulture – The Regal Bone Shatterer
Of the four vulture species that call Spain home, the Bearded Vulture, is a rather special beast! Like the Wallcreeper, this magnificent raptor is found across most of Eurasia’s mountains, as well as a few isolated regions in sub-Saharan Africa. In Spain, they are restricted to the Pyrenees, where they are reliable in places like Echo Valley and El Codo.
While it is a massive bird, averaging over 13 pounds (six kilograms) with a wingspan of eight feet (2.5 meters), the narrow, pointed wings, diamond-shaped tail, stout body and fully feathered head of the Bearded Vulture give it a very different profile to other old world vulture species. However, structure is not the only thing unique about this bird. Bearded Vultures are famous for their extraordinary behavior of picking up bones from animal carcasses, carrying them to great heights and then dropping them onto rocks to shatter them and get at the nutritious marrow within. This incredible feat earned them their old name of Ossifrage (meaning ‘bone breaker’) and is a learned skill, taking roughly seven years for a young vulture to master. Interestingly, this is about the same amount of time it takes for a Bearded Vulture to attain its gorgeous, black-and-orange adult plumage. Although marrow is what they are after, Bearded Vultures will often simply swallow whole bones up to the size of a sheep’s tibia! To cope with swallowing bones, they have incredibly powerful stomach acid that allows them to digest such large bones in about 24 hours!
Historically, the Bearded Vulture had come under a lot of pressure from humans, being extirpated from much of its range in Europe and only reintroduced to the Alps in 1987. While the Asian birds seem to have remained largely unscathed, those in Africa have disappeared from most of the main mountain ranges, being now confined to the Drakensberg Mountains (in South Africa) and the Ethiopian Highlands. These African populations differ from the Eurasian birds by being slightly smaller and lacking a chest band and face speckling.
Bearded Vultures can carry bones up to nine pounds (four kilograms) in weight!
8) Cinereous Vulture – The Carrion Cloak
Yet another iconic vulture manages make its way onto the list of Spain’s most desired birds. The Cinereous Vulture is an immense denizen of the Spanish sky that is instantly recognizable by its massive size, broad, rectangular wings and dark, burnt-brown plumage. Although they share much the same distribution as the Bearded Vulture, their Spanish distribution is not restricted to the Pyrenees and they can be found across most of Spain’s interior steppes and lower mountains. The Sierra de Gredos and Monfrague National Park are particularly good areas to search for these huge birds as they effortlessly circle about, often accompanying large flocks of Griffon Vultures in their search for carcasses.
Unlike the Bearded Vulture, the Cinereous Vulture is more typical in being a true carrion lover. However, Cinereous Vultures differ from other Eurasian vulture species by preferring to nest solitarily in trees, as opposed to forming tightknit colonies on cliffs (although said trees do tend to be on mountainsides). This trait is also shared by the savanna-dwelling vultures of Africa, and indeed the Lappet-faced Vulture is its closest relative. Both species possess great size and powerful bills that allow them to break into a carcass far easier than the various Gyps vultures. In fact, the Cinereous Vulture is the largest member of the raptor family, with females capable of reaching 30 pounds (14 kilograms) in weight (as much as a Cocker Spaniel). This makes it one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, alongside the next species on this list.
There’s no mistaking the massive, dark, rectangular silhouette of a soaring Cinereous Vulture.
9) Great Bustard – The Steppe Strutter
Considering the many bird species the Spanish plains have to offer, this one has to be the most grandiose and majestic of all. With its beautifully barred back, snow-white wings and elegant profile, the Great Bustard commands a presence about it like few other birds can. Males in particular have an unrivalled degree of regality, with their ombre, rufous necks, robust build and stately whiskers. However, seasoned birders know that the true glory of a male Great Bustard is unfurled (pun intended) during his display. By cocking his large tail, contorting his wings and inflating the air sack in his neck, he transforms into a spectacular amalgamation of ruffled feathers that scarcely resembles a bird! Nicknamed the “foam bath” by birders, witnessing a displaying Great Bustard is one of the spectacles of the bird world that any avid birder has to see!
This regal ground bird occurs patchily across the steppes of Eurasia from Spain to Mongolia, where, unusually for bustards, they live social lives in groups up to several dozen strong. While the Iberian Great Bustards are largely sedentary, the Asian populations are strongly migratory, another unusual trait among bustards. This is exactly mirrored in the Little Bustard which has much the same range and is also resident in the Iberian steppes. The Asian populations of both species undertake long migrations between their breeding grounds in Russia and Mongolia, and their wintering grounds in Central Asia.
Sadly, the Great Bustard has declined rapidly across much of its range due to habitat transformation, hunting and collisions with powerlines. Roughly half of the world population is now said to reside within Spain, hence why it is one of the nation’s most special bird species. This number is said to sit at around 23,000 birds, with much smaller populations still hanging on in Germany, Turkey, Russia, Portugal and Mongolia.
A male Great Bustard begins his display by raising his tail.
10) Pin-tailed Sandgrouse – The Painted Pilgrim
Concluding our list is one final steppe special. Although it may not be as large or as dramatic as a displaying Great Bustard, the Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is one of the most ornately plumaged ground birds in Europe. Its rich array of gold-and-chestnut bands and accents are all tied together by its bright white belly and blue eye-rings, making it one of Spain’s most visually appealing birds. While occupying the same open country as the bustards, the Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, like most sandgrouse species, is principally a bird of arid areas, and elsewhere occupies the desert regions of north Africa, central Asia and the Middle East. Even in Spain, they tend to avoid the grassy meadows, loved by most other steppe species, and prefer bare plots or fallow fields. In this way, they are even more extreme than the co-occurring Black-bellied Sandgrouse which tend towards grassier plains. This preference for barren land means that they are more localized to specific parts of the Spanish steppes than other species, such as the farmlands between Ciudad Real and Albacete.
Sandgrouse around the world are known for flying vast distances every day to regular watering points and the Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is no different. They can fly up to 30 miles (50 kilometers) to their favored waterhole, normally arriving in large flocks just after dawn. During the breeding season, the males will also repeatedly dip their chests into the water. The feathers in this area have special microfibers on their underside which make them highly absorbent, and allows the male sandgrouse to carry water back to their chicks. This unique adaptation is only found in male sandgrouse, with no other birds in the world known to do this.
Groups of commuting Pin-tailed Sandgrouse are easy to pick up by their nasal flight calls.
Now that we’ve wrapped up the top birds of Spain, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “I’d love to get down there and see some of these incredible birds”. Lucky for you, Birding Ecotours offers two different Spain birding tours that will appeal to both serious and casual birders alike. Our Spring Birding Extravaganza tour is fairly comprehensive and covers all of the major birding regions in Spain, from north to south. On the other hand, our Andalusia Fall tour focuses on migration and birding southern Spain while still aiming to get as many of the Iberian specials as possible. To summarize, here is a list of the birds that you’ll want to get to know leading up to your inevitable trip to Spain:
- Spanish Imperial Eagle
- Iberian Magpie
- Red-necked Nightjar
- Citril Finch
- Wallcreeper
- Dupont’s Lark
- Bearded Vulture
- Cinereous Vulture
- Great Bustard
- Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Be it the secretive Dupont’s Lark, the regal Spanish Imperial Eagle or the extravagant Great Bustards, Spain has got something to appeal to every birder, no matter your level of investment. We hope to see you soon one on of our tours through this fantastic birding destination!
