List of the birds of Spain, including the Canary Islands
by John Muddeman
Updated January 2010

This is the latest full Spanish list (mid Jan 2010), based on the taxonomy, systematic order and English names in Gill, F. and M. Wright. 2006. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, On-line Version 2.3 generated on 2009-12-20 here. Spanish names follow the SEO/BirdLife world list of recommended Spanish names, though this is still incomplete, plus also the list of exotic species produced by the SEO/BirdLife Exotic Bird Group (GAE; available here).

The species list has been compiled from several sources: the full SEO/BirdLife Spanish list (dated 2005), brought more up to date using the Rarities Committee on-line update, which includes all records until the end of 2008, plus cross-checking against the list of Spanish exotic species (dated March 2006; see above). In addition, more recent unconfirmed records of new sub/species until mid-January 2010 were included from records on the RareBirdSpain and Reservoir Birds websites. Finally a few other (mainly old and unconfirmed records) have been traced in the full list of Spanish birds available on-line at http://www.seo.org/aves_espana.cfm . However, given the time elapsed since the official Spanish list and list of Exotic Species were published, the list might not be complete, and given differences in taxonomy, some of the species considered here may not have been recognized in the official list. Any errors are my own and the list is not an officially recognized one.

John Muddeman

A professional tour guide, writer and scientific translator, with a lifelong interest in diverse aspects of natural history. He lives the Madrid mountains and guides organised groups throughout Iberia, Europe and further afield.

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For full details of which species are considered rarities in peninsular Spain plus the Balearics, and which in the Canary Islands, please consult the original lists, since not surprisingly, they differ greatly. Formally accepted individuals not specifically identified to species, e.g. Frigatebird sp., Spotted / Lesser Spotted Eagle, etc. are not included in the final total, nor are those hybrids and subspecies included in the list, which are included however as figuring in the list of national rarities, with accepted records. Category D species are included for completeness as some may possibly relate to wild individuals (e.g. there are a relatively large number of possible African vagrants, but these are generally considered of unproven origin), but are also not included in the final total.

There are currently 528 accepted species in categories A, B and C, but not including at least twenty-one species with apparently pending recent records: Tundra Bean Goose, Cackling Goose, Pacific Loon, Fea's Petrel, Eastern Great Egret, White-backed Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Saker Falcon, African Swamphen, Red-necked Stint, Egyptian Nightjar, Belted Kingfisher, Red-tailed Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Arctic Warbler, Moltoni's Warbler, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Naumann's Thrush, Isabelline Wheatear, American Redstart & House Bunting, plus an old record of Tawny Eagle, but current Category D species include both Slaty-backed and Kelp Gulls, the regional statuses of which have changed recently and may prompt a reassessment of their status, and African Sacred Ibis which, perhaps strangely, is included in E list despite numerous records in Spain and a large feral population just over the border in SW France.

List

Reference numbers within the table refers to the footnotes.

Footnotes

¹ Pre-RBC + 1 pending; unconfirmed
² Confirmed off Gibraltar; by inference also in Spanish waters, but considered of doubtful origin
³ Pre-RBC; unconfirmed