European Robin

Erithacus rubecula

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: abundant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Petirrojo europeo

Photograph: Arjan Haverkamp, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 14 cm
Weight: 18 g

Presence in the Strait

Abundant resident in wooded areas. In autumn and winter many migrants arrive from the North and they can be found practically throughout the whole area.

Identification

Unmistakable. Rusty-red breast, brownish upperparts, rounded head and body, large black eyes. High-pitched call: «tick, tick...». Juveniles are heavily spotted lacking red breast.

Movements

Peaks in 1st hf. March and 2nd hf. October.

Ring recoveries

Sweden (49), Germany (42), Poland (30), Finland (24), Belgium (20), Denmark (16), Switzerland (15), France (12), Czech Republic (8), Holland (5), Norway (5), Morocco (3), United Kingdom (3), Italy (2), Russia (2), Algeria (1), Latvia (1) and Portugal (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

17 %

Peak in November. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 1 January 1940
Latest record: 10 April 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

239 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Sweden49
Germany42
Poland30
Finland24
Belgium20
Denmark16

See the journey on the map

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
GBIF taxon key: 2492462

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Arjan Haverkamp, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

European Robin

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery