It is distributed worldwide across the Western Palearctic, and in Europe it occurs only in the Mediterranean region and eastern areas (Keller et al., 2020; BirdLife International, 2024). In Spain it is absent from the Balearic and Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, but extends across the northern half of the peninsula, avoiding the Atlantic areas, Galicia, and the agricultural depressions of the Ebro and Duero. In Sierra Nevada, it has an isolated breeding population (Copete in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). It occurs in all bioclimatic zones, from sea level up to high mountain areas around 2,400 m above sea level. It is especially associated with mid-mountain zones and some Mediterranean areas.

In Madrid, it is found in the western and northern parts of the region, always in mountainous shrub areas but not exceeding 2,000 m in altitude, preferably in mountain heathlands, as well as in open oak woods and montane shrublands (Díaz et al., 1994).

In the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, its summer populations are distributed along the high ridges and slopes, in the Cuerda Larga and from the Peñalara massif northeastward through the Reventón and Navafría passes, etc. It occupies much of the protected area.