Cyanistes caeruleus
Cyanistes caeruleus
The blue tit is a species typical of the Western Palearctic, becoming rarer towards the east and north in Russia (Keller et al., 2020; BirdLife International, 2024). In Spain, it is common and occurs throughout the Iberian Peninsula, although it becomes scarce or absent in some hot and arid areas. It is present in the Balearic Islands, in the Serra de Tramuntana (Wandosell et al. in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). It is absent in Ceuta and Melilla, and in the Canary Islands it is replaced by the Canary blue tit, Cyanistes teneriffae.
It is abundant in Madrid, and despite its forest preferences, it can occur in a variety of habitats and environments, from agricultural areas with some vegetation cover to urban areas with gardens or tree plots in the metropolitan area (Díaz et al., 1994).
Within the park, it inhabits all environments with tree cover in medium and low altitude areas, especially mixed forests, holm oak woods, riparian groves, and riverine forests.
The common blue tit is a forest species that requires trees with holes and cavities for nesting. It is abundant in spring in supra-Mediterranean oak forests and in riparian, broadleaf, or mixed forests; including supra-Mediterranean oaks, Pyrenean oaks, thermomediterranean holm oak and cork oak forests, mesomediterranean holm oak forests, and Cantabrian beech forests (Salvador, 2016).
Within the national park, it is especially abundant in mixed forests, riparian formations, and groves of mature holm oaks. Significant densities have also been recorded in areas of tall shrubland, an environment likely frequently used for foraging.
At the global scale, the species is classified as Least Concern (LC; 2017). In Europe, it would also fall under the same category (LC; 2021). In Spain, it is considered of Least Concern in the 2021 Red List.
The Threatened Species Catalogue of the Community of Madrid (1992) does not list this species in any threat category.
BirdLife International 2024. IUCN Red List for birds. https://datazone.birdlife.org.
Díaz, M., Martí, R., Gómez-Manzaneque, Á. y Sánchez, A. 1994. Atlas de las aves nidificantes en Madrid. Agencia de Medio Ambiente y SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Keller, V., Herrando, S., Voříšek, P., Franch, M., Kipson, M., Milanesi, P., Martí, D., Antón, M., Klvaňová, A., Kalyakin, M. V. Bauer, H. Gr y Foppen, R. P. B. 2020. European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: Distribution, Abundance and Change. European Birds Census Council y Lynx Edicions. Barcelona.
SEO/BirdLife (Molina, B., Nebreda, A., Muñoz, A. R., Seoane, J., Real, R., Bustamante, J. y Del Moral, J. C., eds.) 2022. III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Salvador, A. 2016. Herrerillo común Cyanistes caeruleus. En Salvador, A. y Bautista, L. M. (eds.): Enciclopedia virtual de los vertebrados españoles. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. Madrid.