| 2010 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Near Threatened Justification This species is declining at a moderately rapid rate, qualifying the species for uplisting to Near Threatened. Declines in the core population in Spain were largely responsible for the global declines; the drivers are not entirely clear but include habitat degradation and modification.
Family/Sub-family Sylviidae Species name author (Boddaert, 1783) Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC (2003), Cramp and Simmons (1977-1994), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993) |
Population estimate | Population trend | Range estimate (breeding/resident) | Country endemic? | 5,700,000 - 11,000,000 | decreasing | 835,000 km2 | No |
Range & population Sylvia undata is restricted to southern and western Europe and north-west Africa, where it is patchily distributed but locally common to very common in Spain (including Balearic Islands), Portugal, Andorra, Morocco. Algeria, Tunisia, France (including Corsica), United Kingdom and Italy (including Sardinia)3. The European breeding population, which numbers 1,900,000-3,700,000 pairs3, and constitutes more than 90% of the global population, underwent a large decline during 1970-19908. The stronghold is located in Spain which holds 1,700,000 to 3,000,000 pairs4, but the population here decreased by 5.9% per year between 1998-20061. France holds the next largest population (150,000-600,000 pairs) but the trend here is unclear. In the UK it has recently increased rapidly and extended its range northwards, reaching a total of 3,209 territories in 20065. If trends in Spain are reflected elsewhere in Europe, the European breeding population may have declined by over 40% over the last ten years. The population trend for the species produced by the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme suggests that it declined by 27% during 1990-20057, and these declines have lead to the species being uplisted to Near Threatened.
| Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria. | Ecology: It favours dense, homogeneous scrub, garrigue and low maquis c.0.5-1.5 m in height and dominated by species such as Ulex, Erica, Rosmarinus, Genista, Cistus and Quercus coccifera3. It is largely sedentary but undertakes some short-distance dispersive movements and some European birds spend the non-breeding season in north-west Africa3. It is primarily a lowland species in the north of its range but occurs to 1,800-2,000 m in the Pyrenees and north-west Africa3.
| Threats Reasons for the recent Spanish decline are still unclear. It is vulnerable to severe winters, particularly in the northern part of its range3. Cold spells in December 2001 and the winter of 2004-2005 caused high mortality in Spain6, while the UK population was reduced to 11 pairs after the severe winter of 1962-19633. Increasing densities of cattle on the Spanish dehesa are causing severe habitat degradation through overgrazing6, which may be affecting the species. Afforestation has decreased the amount of suitable habitat in parts of France and Iberia9. Changes in the pattern and frequency of wildfires may be a threat, although the species often colonises early successional habitat created by such fires3.
| | Conservation measures proposed Carry out specific research on drivers of declines, particularly the link with habitats. Research trends elsewhere within its range, particularly France and North Africa. Develop programmes which subsidise farming practices which promote healthy populations of the species.
| References 1. Escandell (2007). 2. V. Escandell in litt. (2007). 3. del Hoyo et al. (2006). 4. BirdLife International (2004). 5. S. Wotton in litt. (2007). 6. J. J. R. Encalado in litt. (2007). 7. PECBMS (in press). 8. Tucker and Heath (1994). 9. Shirihai et al. (2001).
| Text account compilers Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Jonathan Ekstrom (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International) | Contributors Juan José Ramos Encalado (SEO/BirdLife), Virginia Escandell (SEO/BirdLife), Sergi Herrando (Catalan Ornithological Institute), Ana Iñigo (Sociedad Española de Ornitología), Simon Wotton (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) | IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International) |
| Recommended citation BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Sylvia undata. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 3/9/2010 | This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List. To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums |
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