Discussion thread for Iberian Chiffchaff. If you would like to add a comment, click the Post Reply button.
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.
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
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
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.
pinaster
A & changed curly quote marks to wiki-preferred straight quote marks: :t:
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?
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.
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:"