Iberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus)

[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Phylloscopidae | [latin] Phylloscopus ibericus | [UK] Iberian Chiffchaff | [FR] Jardinier a poitrine fauve | [DE] Iberienzilpzalp | [ES] Mosquitero Iberico | [NL] Iberische Tjiftjaf

Subspecies

Physical charateristics

Small, slight but often rather chesty warbler, less graceful and active than Willow Warbler. Plumage variable in color tones and in contrast between upper and underparts: west-central and south-western races (nominate callybita, brehmii, exsul, canariensis) brownish-olive above and dull yellowish below, and lacking contrasting features except for dark bill, pale eye-ring within dull yellow supercilium, and usually dark legs.
Northern and eastern races abietinus, tristis less warm, more olive, cooler brown or even grey above, and less yellow, even strikingly white below.

Listen to the sound of Iberian Chiffchaff

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/I/Iberian Chiffchaff.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

Range

Eurasia : Southwest Europe, also Northwest Africa

Habitat

Breeds in Spain and portugal in boreal, temperate, and mediterranean climatic zones. Basically a bird of mature lowland woodland with not too dense canopy and fairly copious variety of medium to tallish undergrowth, but may even extend to tree line in mountain woodland or to upper zone of closed forest.

Reproduction

Breeds in west Palearctic in upper and lower middle latitudes, in continental and oceanic boreal, temperate, and mediterranean climatic zones. Basically a bird of mature lowland woodland with not too dense canopy and fairly copious variety of medium to tallish undergrowth, but may even extend to tree line in mountain woodland or to upper zone of closed forest. Only recently split as a seperate species from Common Chiffchaff. Breeds predominantly is Spain and Portugal.

Feeding habits

Almost wholly insects. Forages mainly high in tree canopy, aslo in bushes and lower down in dense thickets.

Conservation

This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Phylloscopus ibericus breeds in Portugal, Spain and south-west France, which together
constitute >90% of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is
large (>360,000 pairs), but the trend between 1970-1990 was unknown (due to
confusion with P. collybita, from which it has only recently been separated). Although
trend data were again unavailable for the key populations in Spain and France during
1990-2000, the species was stable in Portugal, and there was no evidence to suggest
that it declined overall.

Migration

Breeds in portugal and Spain, winters in West Africa

Distribution map