Lullula arborea
Lullula arborea
It is a species native to the western Palearctic, ranging from northwestern Africa in the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula, across Europe to Russia, and throughout the western and southern Mediterranean to the Middle East. To the north, it reaches Fennoscandia (BirdLife International, 2024). In Europe it is well distributed throughout the territory except in the northernmost areas (Keller et al., 2020). In the Iberian Peninsula it is a very abundant species, though less frequent along the Cantabrian coast, the arid southeast, and the Guadalquivir valley (Serrano-Davies and Pérez-Granados in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). Its highest abundances occur in the supramediterranean zone.
In the Community of Madrid it is well represented across most of the territory; it is absent from the Tajo and Jarama river plains and from the metropolitan area of Madrid. It is characteristic of open and edge woodlands, with a preference for coniferous forests at mid-altitudes (Díaz et al., 1994).
It is a ubiquitous species throughout the park, occurring in all open and semi-forested habitats at low and mid elevations within the protected area. Its highest densities are distributed across several patches, the largest being around the Morcuera pass.
</p
The woodlark is present in open habitats with shrub cover and scattered trees, preferentially using forest ecotone areas (Schaefer and Vogel, 2000). During the breeding season, the highest densities occur in juniper and savin woodlands, in dehesa-like holm oak and cork oak forests, and to a lesser extent in sparse oak woodlands. It is also associated with grasslands with some degree of shrub development and with other open forests (Tellería et al., 2008).
In the national park its highest abundances occur in grasslands and open areas, but always linked to shrubland and scattered woodland. It is more abundant in pinewoods with clearings and in grassland areas with surrounding shrub cover.
At a global scale it is considered a Least Concern species (LC; 2024). In Europe it would also be classified in the same category (LC; 2021). In Spain it is listed as Least Concern in the 2021 Red List.
The Catalogue of Threatened Species of the Community of Madrid (1992) does not place the 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.
Schaefer, T. y Vogel, B. 2000. Why do woodlarks need field-forest ecotones? An analysis of possible factors. Journal für Ornithologie, 141: 335-344.
Tellería, J. L., Ramírez, A., Galarza, A., Carbonell, R., Perez-Tris, J. y Santos, T. 2008. Geographical, landscape and habitat effects on birds in Northern Spanish farmlands: implications for conservation. Ardeola, 55: 203-219.