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Iberian Chiffchaff (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andy Hurley
- Start date
I would like to start a decussion thread about winter movement of Iberian Chiffchaff .
Specifically, could anyone with data concerning the over-wintering of this species on the Iberian Peninsula please contribute, as I noticed that there is a paucity of knowledge on this subject when researching for the Opus article.
Thank you in advance, your help is very much appreciated
Edit: Any additional data about their overwintering territory in tropical NW Africa is also most welcome.
Specifically, could anyone with data concerning the over-wintering of this species on the Iberian Peninsula please contribute, as I noticed that there is a paucity of knowledge on this subject when researching for the Opus article.
Thank you in advance, your help is very much appreciated
Edit: Any additional data about their overwintering territory in tropical NW Africa is also most welcome.
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Simon Wates
Well-known member
Andy - I think current knowledge is well reflected in HBW Alive - distribution map (and Birdlife date zone - though at the moment it seems their maps aren't loading?) and shows tropical west Africa as wintering range - with some in Tunisia??? - that surprised me as all our breeders here leave and return late Fb/March in breeding habitat. No wintering in breeding areas ASAIK, which N:Africa is part of.
http://www.hbw.com/species/iberian-chiffchaff-phylloscopus-ibericus
I remember that some Portuguese ringers worked trapping them down in west Africa some years ago - reference? Maybe Rafael or someone else can provide a link to concrete results regarding wintering areas?
I personally believe that winter Ib Chiffs are as rare as wintering W. Warblers and that mid Feb. Ib Chiffs are returning birds (maybe causing comments on wintering). They are leaving breeding grounds from late July (calling birds on the coast here away from breeding areas) and peak through August I believe - scarce after late September.
I'm sure ringing data supports this. I think there is only one true winter record in Portugal - see: http://chegadas.avesdeportugal.info/cheg-phyibe.html
Simon Wates
Well-known member
Haha - I've only just looked at the Opus page - and what caught my eye was, "Many of those breeding in Iberia and southwest France are thought to move short distances to lower levels, usually in valleys and along Mediterranean coast. Uncertainty is caused by wintering Common Chiffchaff and a lack of winter specimens from the Iberian peninsular." - where does this info come from? Although I may be wrong, from what I have seen all these years is that it is a species quite regularly recorded by some visitors literally assuming winter birds here are Ib Chiffs because they are in Iberia !!
Haha - I've only just looked at the Opus page - and what caught my eye was, "Many of those breeding in Iberia and southwest France are thought to move short distances to lower levels, usually in valleys and along Mediterranean coast. Uncertainty is caused by wintering Common Chiffchaff and a lack of winter specimens from the Iberian peninsular." - where does this info come from? Although I may be wrong, from what I have seen all these years is that it is a species quite regularly recorded by some visitors literally assuming winter birds here are Ib Chiffs because they are in Iberia !!
Hi Simon,
This is cited from HBW alive (scroll down to movements on the link you provided) and somehow contradicts their own map....
André
Simon Wates
Well-known member
Hi Simon,
This is cited from HBW alive (scroll down to movements on the link you provided) and somehow contradicts their own map....
André
Thanks Andre - I'm not a subscriber so couldn't read those details. I wonder where HBW got the info from then?
"thought to move short distances to lower levels" just seems very vague to me, especially considering its a European species. - I'm genuinely interested in any indications of wintering north of tropical west Africa - regular or not.
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Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
I've done a bit of tidying up and added the 2015 S Wales breeding record. Didn't remove the "wintering in the Med" bit, but think it should be removed - the HBW info is surely out of date.
John Cantelo
Well-known member
Simon's experience fits with my own. However it's also backed by The Guide to the Birds of the Straits - see http://www.birdcadiz.com/wp-content/uploads/GUIADEAVESDELESTRECHOEdicionRevisada2012.pdf? - which has an interesting graph on the topic which I reproduce below. There's also a more detailed & up to date discussion in 'The Birds of the Iberian Peninsula' (Garcia & de Juana) pp528 - 529 (I've not the time to write a digest at the moment but can do so tomorrow). This seems to be based on key studies by Perez-Tris et al 2003 Are Iberian Chiffchaffs long distance migrants? Bird Study 50; 146-152, Catry et al in Differential migration of Chiffchaffs .. in Europe & Africa J. Avian Biology 36 184-190
Attachments
Simon Wates
Well-known member
Thanks John, I've read those and was trying to recall but my memory doesn't always serve me well. I've even got the Bird Study article - I'll have to dig it out (almost literally:-O).
Thanks for your input so far.
@Nutcracker. Why have you changed my wording? Why is it necessary to wait till an editor updates an incomplete article and then change what he does? You could have rewritten the article by yourself. No, instead you like to change other people's work. Based on what exactly?
@Nutcracker. Why have you changed my wording? Why is it necessary to wait till an editor updates an incomplete article and then change what he does? You could have rewritten the article by yourself. No, instead you like to change other people's work. Based on what exactly?
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Which bit that I changed do you not like? The article was mentioned here, so I went to have a look and added a bit extra and corrected a typo or two; I didn't look in the page's history, so didn't know whose wording I was changing - for all I knew it was much older details I was adding to / changing.
John Cantelo
Well-known member
I've just read through the text in Opus for the first time and suggest it needs several caveats regarding some of the details. I feel that ought to be a warning that the description applies to 'typical' birds in fresh clean plumage and that some birds may be virtually indistinguishable on plumage alone from brighter Chiffchaffs. Similarly, it ought to be clear that juvs are not safely separable from Common. Certainly, it does not seem to "move short distances to lower levels, usually in valleys and along Mediterranean coast" in winter. However, I really don't want to tread on any toes here .....
Simon Wates
Well-known member
Habitats, Algarve
Andy, after reading the habitat section I thought it could be a bit clearer – so I’ve put together on my take on Ib Chiff’s habitat in the Algarve (please feel free to use and edit as necessary Andy) – maybe others could comment on habitats further north in Portugal? I’ve seen it sometimes in breeding season in near pure pine woodland in central eastern Portugal IIRC.
In the Algarve breeding areas are found primarily inland, nearly always on shale substrate of the “Serras” and is practically absent on the more coastal limestone “Barrocal”, where oaks (except Kermes Oak Quercus coccifera) are very localised. Iberian Chiffchaffs is a woodland bird, favouring areas with at least a small representation of Cork Oak Quercus suber and often in pure Cork Oak forest and woodland. It is particularly common along valley bottoms in these areas along woodland galleries consisting of Cork Oak, Willows (Salix atrocinerea, S. australis), White Poplar Populus alba and sometimes Alder Alnus glutinosa. These habitats often include other native trees/shrubs like Phyllrea angustifolia, Strawberry Tree Arbutus unedo, Viburnum tinus and others. Areas of Cork Oak with mixed Pines Pinus pinea, P.maritumus are freely used as are areas affected with Eucalyptus plantations, although on edges where Cork Oaks are nearby. Iberian Chiffchaff is much less catholic in its choice of breeding habitat than Common Chiffchaff and is fact quite a habitat specialist. In the Algarve it doesn’t breed in gardens, town parks, tourist development gardens, golf courses or in coastal agricultural areas, orchards etc. In these areas it is found mainly on autumn passage (July)Aug-Sep(Oct) with spring migrants being much less numerous. Interestingly, a little north of the Algarve in the Baixo Alentejo it doesn’t seem to breed at all in the vast open Cork Oak and Holm Oak woodlands, which are rich in birdlife. In that region it occurs mainly and often commonly in the cooler Atlantic western woodlands with dense understory.
Andy, after reading the habitat section I thought it could be a bit clearer – so I’ve put together on my take on Ib Chiff’s habitat in the Algarve (please feel free to use and edit as necessary Andy) – maybe others could comment on habitats further north in Portugal? I’ve seen it sometimes in breeding season in near pure pine woodland in central eastern Portugal IIRC.
In the Algarve breeding areas are found primarily inland, nearly always on shale substrate of the “Serras” and is practically absent on the more coastal limestone “Barrocal”, where oaks (except Kermes Oak Quercus coccifera) are very localised. Iberian Chiffchaffs is a woodland bird, favouring areas with at least a small representation of Cork Oak Quercus suber and often in pure Cork Oak forest and woodland. It is particularly common along valley bottoms in these areas along woodland galleries consisting of Cork Oak, Willows (Salix atrocinerea, S. australis), White Poplar Populus alba and sometimes Alder Alnus glutinosa. These habitats often include other native trees/shrubs like Phyllrea angustifolia, Strawberry Tree Arbutus unedo, Viburnum tinus and others. Areas of Cork Oak with mixed Pines Pinus pinea, P.maritumus are freely used as are areas affected with Eucalyptus plantations, although on edges where Cork Oaks are nearby. Iberian Chiffchaff is much less catholic in its choice of breeding habitat than Common Chiffchaff and is fact quite a habitat specialist. In the Algarve it doesn’t breed in gardens, town parks, tourist development gardens, golf courses or in coastal agricultural areas, orchards etc. In these areas it is found mainly on autumn passage (July)Aug-Sep(Oct) with spring migrants being much less numerous. Interestingly, a little north of the Algarve in the Baixo Alentejo it doesn’t seem to breed at all in the vast open Cork Oak and Holm Oak woodlands, which are rich in birdlife. In that region it occurs mainly and often commonly in the cooler Atlantic western woodlands with dense understory.
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John Cantelo
Well-known member
Excellent, Simon. I lack your botanical skills but would add that in the Alcornocales they seem to like sheltered canutos and the surrounding open oak woodland.
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
A correction or two (in bold), & changed curly quote marks to wiki-preferred straight quote marks: :t:
In the Algarve breeding areas are found primarily inland, nearly always on shale substrate of the "Serras" and is practically absent on the more coastal limestone "Barrocal", where oaks (except Kermes Oak Quercus coccifera) are very localised. Iberian Chiffchaffs is a woodland bird, favouring areas with at least a small representation of Cork Oak Quercus suber and often in pure Cork Oak forest and woodland. It is particularly common along valley bottoms in these areas along woodland galleries consisting of Cork Oak, Willows (Salix atrocinerea, S. australis), White Poplar Populus alba and sometimes Alder Alnus glutinosa. These habitats often include other native trees/shrubs like Phyllrea angustifolia, Strawberry-tree Arbutus unedo, Viburnum tinus and others. Areas of Cork Oak with mixed Pines Pinus pinea, P. pinaster are freely used as are areas affected with Eucalyptus plantations, although on edges where Cork Oaks are nearby. Iberian Chiffchaff is much less catholic in its choice of breeding habitat than Common Chiffchaff and is fact quite a habitat specialist. In the Algarve it does not breed in gardens, town parks, tourist development gardens, golf courses or in coastal agricultural areas, orchards etc. In these areas it is found mainly on autumn passage (July) Aug-Sep (Oct) with spring migrants being much less numerous. Interestingly, a little north of the Algarve in the Baixo Alentejo it doesn’t seem to breed at all in the vast open Cork Oak and Holm Oak woodlands, which are rich in birdlife. In that region it occurs mainly and often commonly in the cooler Atlantic western woodlands with dense understory.
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Simon Wates
Well-known member
Simon Wates
Well-known member
I didn't know my quotations were so noticeable :-O
Anyway - don't have them on my keyboard and why am I supposed to do stuff compatible to Wiki?
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Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
I do a fair bit of wiki editing so spot them a mile off :t:
Birdforum's Opus is based on wiki software, it uses the same markup and formatting, etc., as wikipedias.
Simon Wates
Well-known member
Oh thanks - note taken, so I'm guessing that to do this one needs to press the key I call the apostrophe twice? Like this: '' instead of this:"
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Nope! In wiki markup, two single-quote marks gives you ''italics'' (and three gives '''bold''' text - click on 'Edit' on any Opus page and have a look at the text in the editing box). You just want to type a normal double quote mark; if they are auto-converted on typing into curly quotes, it may be a setting in your browser is set to 'Use smart quotes'. If it is, turn it off when editing a wiki :t:
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