Iconic Birds of Andalucia

The most iconic bird of Andalucia is the Bee-eater Merops apiaster. Back in late July 2011 a number of local birders were asked to think about what might be an iconic bird for Andalucia; what bird or birds do you automatically name when you think of Andalucia? At this point, fellow birders were asked to consider up to about ten species and not in any particular order; the object was to get a feel for the birds that represented the Region. Not an easy decision to make as I knew from experience. My initial attempt resulted in sixtyseven species which I then reduced to just over forty. To help respondents, I forwarded this list in the attempt to show how diverse the selection might be. By mid- August I had received almost twenty replies Bee-eater Merops apiaster with a total of 53 species suggested. Given that most of the respondents were former UK residents now living permanently in Spain having move to the country within the past ten years or less, a small number were regular visitors either to second homes or friends/relations and a couple were Spanish nationals with an interest in bird life, it was not surprising tat there were some interesting choices. For example, the Spanish seemed very interested in both the Red-legged partridge and Quail and one might, therefore, surmise that there choices might be based more on a culinary and/or sporting aspect rather than the bird itself. In the same way, both Goldfinch and House Sparrow featured on the lists of British participants. Could this possibly be a result of the numbers present out here in Andalucia? Whilst the Goldfinch is a common resident in the UK, away from the winter feeders the bird is certainly not seen in the numbers that we come to expect in southern Spain. Similarly, with the House Sparrow now very scarce in many parts of Britain maybe the sight, once more, of all these cheeky chappies brings back fond memories of a time gone by. In the same way that some of our very common birds featured in the original list, it soon became clear that the concept of an iconic bird did not relate to the rare and exotic that can be discovered out here. But, on the other hand, it was also surprising how many common local birds did not feature in great numbers. Perhaps, all too soon, we have come to take for granted some species that are very much local to Andalucia rather than Britain. With the fifty-three species counted, the next task was to try and determine which individual might be the iconic bird of Andalucia. So how to make the decision? Having tallied the number of votes for each individual species, the highest recorded fifteen names were forwarded to all who had participated plus, in addition, all other members of the Axarquia Bird Group. This resulted in a final total of 28 voters. Participants were asked to select their top five birds in ranking order. In addition, as there were four raptors to be considered, the next bird on the original list was a Lesser Kestrel so this species was added to the raptors sop that voters could also rank these birds in order. The final lists presented to voters were, therefore, as follows:

Top fifteen birds by number of nominations: Greater Flamingo Black-shouldered Kite Short-toed Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Bonellis Eagle Purple Swamphen Red-knobbed Coot Black-winged Stilt Bee-eater Hoopoe Woodchat Shrike Azure-winged Magpie Red-rumped Swallow Sardinian Warbler Blue Rock Thrush Raptor Selection: Black-winged Kite Short-toed Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Bonellis Eagle Lesser Kestrel Elanus caeruleus Circaetus gallicus Aguila adalberti Hieraaetus fasciatus Falco naumanni Elanio Comn Culebrera Europea Aguila Imperial Ibrica Aguila-azor Perdicera Cernicalo Primilla Phoeniopterus roseus Elanus caeruleus Circaetus gallicus Aguila adalberti Hieraaetus fasciatus Porphyrio porphyrio Fulica cristata Himantopus himantopus Merops apiaster Upupa epops Lanius senator Cyanopica cyanus Hirundo daurica Sylvia melanocephala Monticola solitarius Flamenco Comn Elanio Comn Culebrera Europea Aguila Imperial Ibrica Aguila-azor Perdicera Calamn Comn Focha Moruna Ciguenuela Comn Abejaruco Europeo Abubilla Alcaudn Comn Rabilargo Golondrina Durica Curruca Cabecinegra Roquero Solitario

From the above lists many will immediately notice some missing species; species that one would, perhaps, have expected to find in the iconic birds of Andalucia. Where is the Whiteheaded Duck, the Audouins or Mediterranean Gull, the Kentish Plover, the Cattle Egret, the Pallid or Alpine Swift, the Roller or even the Crested and/or Thekla Lark? In terms of raptors, it seems strange that the Booted Eagle was not a popular choice. Perhaps, as already indicated, it is a question of perception in the sense that we take many of these birds for granted and do not, necessarily, associate them as special within our Region. Who knows, another vote in the future may, possibly, give them more recognition. Method of selection: How to determine the winner? Is the most iconic bird of Andalucia the species gaining the most Firsts with, in the case of a tie, the number of seconds then Thirds etc or the one with most points, on the basis that 5 points will be awarded for first and then reducing to 1 point for a fifth. If the second method is used, would the ultimate winner be a bird that no voter considered the most iconic bird? In the event, having used both methods for scoring, I need not have worried as our first three birds achieved their position by both means of scoring. A third method scoring was also used to see which bird featured most often in individuals selections. Maybe not the top bird but considered by many or most to be one of the top five.

The Iconic Bird of Andalucia: Before drawing any conclusions there are, perhaps, two important factors to bear in mind. Firstly, the number of contributors is small, perhaps too small to be statistically significant, but the resulting vote, if replicated by a larger audience, might be an indicator that could be extrapolated forward. Secondly, all bar two of the participants were of northern European background. No doubt, if more native participants had take part then the outcome might have been very different; perhaps Spanish birders might have gone for the more exotic or scarcer species. Who knows? The overall winner of the award was the Bee-eater, closely followed by the Hoopoe. In third place, well behind but significantly ahead of the fourth species, was the Sardinian Warbler.

Bee-eater

Hoopoe When the number of mentions was calculated, the Hoopoe managed to outscore the winning Bee-eater by a single vote. The Flamingo certainly gained votes and came in fourth, only a couple of votes behind the third-placed Sardinian Warbler and closely followed by the Red-rumped Swallow.

In terms of the larger birds, excluding the Greater Flamingo, our ever-present summer visitor the Short-toed eagle was the most popular species in the top fifteen list. Whether by Firsts or points scored, this bird managed to finish in seventh place and so proved more iconic than the AzureSardinian Warbler winged Magpie, Blue Rock Thrush and Woodchat Shrike. Certainly, when it comes to raptors, this would appear to be the bird that is the most iconic raptor in Andalucia. Whilst the Bonellis Eagle and Goldfinch fought over the last two places, rather a surprise in the case of the former, three Red-rumped Swallow voters insisted on making sure that at least one of their favorite birds were recorded. Sop, despite the above comments about missing names the Thekla Lark did receive a Third vote whilst the Booted Eagle managed to gain a First vote in both the overall nominations and the Raptor section.

Greater Flamingo

Winning table by most Firsts:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12= 12= 14 15 Bee-eater Hoopoe Sardinian Warbler Red-rumped Swallow Greater Flamingo Red-knobbed Coot Short-toed Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Purple Swamphen Blue Rock Thrush Woodchat Shrike Azure-winged Magpie Back-winged Kite Goldfinch Bonellis Eagle 14 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Winning Table by Points:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10= 10= 12= 12= 14= 14= Bee-eater Hoopoe Sardinian Warbler Greater Flamingo Purple Swamphen Red-rumped Swallow Short-toed Eagle Blue Rock Thrush Red-knobbed Coot Azure-winged Magpie Woodchat Shrike Back-winged Kite Spanish Imperial Eagle Bonellis Eagle Goldfinch 77 64 35 29 25 23 18 17 16 11 11 6 6 5 5

Winning Table by most Nominations:

1 2 3 4 5 6= 6= 8= 8= 8= 11 12= 12= 14= 14= Hoopoe Bee-eater Sardinian Warbler Greater Flamingo Red-rumped Swallow Purple Swamphen Azure-winged Magpie Short-toed Eagle Blue Rock Thrush Woodchat Shrike Red-knobbed Coot Spanish Imperial Eagle Bonellis Eagle Back-winged Kite Goldfinch 18 17 13 11 10 7 7 6 6 6 5 3 3 2 2

Conclusions:
Which ever way you look at the results, the iconic bird of Andalucia is the Bee-eater with the Hoopoe a relatively close second that suggest the possibility that, in a future similar poll, the positions might be reversed. Third is the Sardinian Warbler with, based on methodologies and number of nominations, the Greater Flamingo fourth and the Red-rumped Swallow in fifth place, a fraction ahead of the Red-knobbed Coot. In table form: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bee-eater Hoopoe Sardinian Warbler Greater Flamingo Red-rumped Swallow Red-knobbed Coot. (Top raptor) Short-toed Eagle Merops apiaster Upupa epops Sylvia melanocephala Phoeniopterus roseus Hirundo daurica Fulica cristata Circaetus gallicus Abejaruco Europeo Abubilla Curruca Cabecinegra Flamenco Comn Golondrina Durica Focha Moruna Culebrera Europea

Raptor Results: By comparison the raptor results were fairly straight forward. What was evident immediately was that voters seemed to select the raptors that they encountered on a regular basis rather than go for the exotic and/or rarity. Short-toed eagle was quickly followed by Bonellis Eagle and the impressive Spanish Imperial Eagle was, perhaps, seen as a rarity only to be encountered, if at all, as a result of a special expedition to find the bird. As such, it barely managed to surpass the Lesser Kestrel which only made it on to the list by being first reserve

Short-toed Eagle

and next raptor in line. Raptor Table: 1 2 3 4 5 Short-toed Eagle Bonellis Eagle Black-winged Kite Spanish Imperial Eagle Lesser Kestrel Firsts 9 6 4 3 1 (1) (2) (3) (5) (4) Points 75 69 62 45 50 Nominations (2) 19 (3=) 17 (1) 20 (3=) 17 (5) 16

Where next? Now that we have a potential way of determining what might be the iconic bird of Andalucia, the next initiative ought, perhaps, to be to repeat the exercise at a later date, perhaps on an annual basis, when one would hope that there might be a far greater participation to give a more definitive answer to this proverbial and subjective question. But before undertaking such a survey in 2012, comments and suggestions upon how to both improve and widen the birding electorate would be much appreciated by he author. One such initiative might be to circulate the information to other birding groups in Andalucia such as the Adalucia Bird Society and the Arboleas Bird Group. R C N Wright

October 2011