It is widely distributed across the southern Palearctic (BirdLife International, 2024). Its distribution in Europe is broad, covering almost the entire continent (Keller et al., 2020). In Spain, it breeds in the mountain ranges and systems of the northern peninsula; its breeding area includes the northern ranges, from Galicia, León, and Zamora to the Pyrenees, passing through the entire Cantabrian Mountains and the Basque Mountains (Carrera in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). It also uses areas in the northern Iberian System and the Central System. There are breeding records in Sierra Nevada.

In Madrid, it is restricted to high mountain areas above 1,800 m. It occupies fresh or waterlogged meadows, along streams and ponds, sometimes with scattered rocky outcrops (Díaz et al., 1994).

Within the national park, during the breeding season it is most abundant in the central high-mountain core of the protected area, along the Peñalara massif and around Alto de Guarramillas, Cabezas de Hierro, Cuerda Larga, and Navafría Pass, always in open meadow areas without tree cover. Always at the highest elevations of the park.