Muscicapa striata
Muscicapa striata
This species breeds across almost the entire western and central Palaearctic (BirdLife International, 2024). In Europe it also has a wide distribution, except for the Russian Arctic region (Keller et al., 2020). In Spain it has a broad distribution along the Mediterranean coast, the southwestern part of the peninsula, and the eastern Cantabrian area, while its presence inland is discontinuous, with populations concentrated in the main river valleys and in the mid and lower elevations of mountain ranges (García in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). In the Balearic Islands, the endemic subspecies Muscicapa striata baleárica breeds, and the species is absent from the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.
In the Community of Madrid it is found only in the northern half, and its strongest population nucleus appears to be in the far north of the province (Díaz et al., 1994).
During this atlas fieldwork it was detected at a single point in a forested area in the Manzanares River valley within La Pedriza.
The Spotted Flycatcher is associated with forests and woodlands located relatively close to open areas, using riparian forests, orchards, and woody crop fields. It occupies stands of conifers as well as deciduous and sclerophyllous trees. It avoids croplands lacking tree cover. It appears in coastal areas near watercourses and bodies of water, although its highest densities occur in oak and holm oak woodlands, and in Scots pine forests (López in Martí & Del Moral, 2003).
In the national park, its scarcity does not allow density estimates by habitat, but the pair detected was located in a riparian forest area with nearby grasslands. It is likely that the species does not find optimal breeding habitats in the national park due to altitude, although some pairs may breed in Pyrenean oak or Scots pine forests.
At a global scale, it is considered to be in the category of Least Concern (LC; 2019). In Europe, it would also be classified in the same category (LC; 2021). In Spain, it is considered to be in the category of Least Concern in the 2021 Red List.
The Catalog of Threatened Species of the Community of Madrid (1992) does not place the species in any threat category.
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.
Martí, R. y Del Moral, J. C. 2003. Atlas de las aves reproductoras de España. SEO/BirdLife-Ministerio de Medio Ambiente. Madrid.
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.