The wallcreeper, the blue-breasted nightingale and the alpine sparrow are three bird species included in the List of wild species under a special protection regime and which the candidacy will be contested of the Bird of the Year 2025, for which voting is now open.
So far, 35 species have been chosen as Bird of the Year draw attention to population decline or threats to nature conservation. SEO/BirdLife is once again launching this communication and nature conservation campaign that it has been conducting since 1988.
With this action, the organization focuses on a species that requires special attention because of its poor conservation status or because it symbolizes the urgency of habitat protection who welcome demanding measures from governments and institutions to preserve everyone’s natural heritage.
The candidates are for 2025 the alpine sparrow, the rockcreeper and the blue-breasted nightingale and as in previous editions, the organization is launching a voting process open to society to choose next year’s protagonist.
Candidates Bird of the Year – 2025
The three candidate species for Bird of the Year 2025 are associated with the mountains of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula and are highly sensitive to habitat loss due to climate change. Moreover, infrastructure development is such wind power plants or ski resorts In their territories they endanger all species with an alpine distribution. The three species are included in the List of wild species under a special protection regime.
alpine sparrow
The alpine sparrow (Montifringilla nivalis) es the largest and most special sparrows that live in Spain. Its characteristic plumage, within the discreetness that characterizes sparrows, is the most striking of its relatives. It is an increasingly rare bird that can be found in the high mountains, both in the eastern part of the Cantabrian Mountains (between the Somiedo Natural Park and Peña Prieta and Curavacas), and in the Pyrenees Mountains, between Navarra (Orhy massif) and Lleida (Noguera Pallaresa), normally above 1,800 meters altitude.
Although the Alpine Sparrow was considered not endangered in the Red Bird Book of Spain (published by SEO/BirdLife in 2021), the results of the mountain bird census carried out by SEO/BirdLife in 2024 indicate that the size of the breeding population would be below the threshold to classify it as vulnerable by applying the criteria for evaluating its conservation status internationally established by the IUCN.
Wall crawler
The Wall Crawler (Tichodroma muraria) es one of the most striking birds of the Spanish avifaunabut also one of the most elusive. Its color, predominantly slate, allows it to go unnoticed until it takes off and displays its broad, rounded wings of striking vermilion. As its local and scientific name indicates, it is connected to rock walls. In Spain the breeding areas are between the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees.
Although it can be found in all types of substrates, its preference is for the limestone areas of the central Pyrenees and the easternmost part of the Cantabrian Mountains (from Picos de Europa and surroundings to Somiedo). In winter it expands greatly, making it possible to observe it indoors virtually every rocky area on the peninsulaeven in buildings. Despite its small population and fragmentation into two different cores, the species was assessed in the Red Bird Book of Spain as not threatened, although climate change and the alteration of its habitat pose a clear threat to this species.
Blue-breasted nightingale
The blue-breasted nightingale (Swedish nightshade) is the most common and easily observed of the three candidates for Bird of the Year, undoubtedly due to its habit of perching on piornos and gorse, showing its distinctive blue throat. The breeding area is divided into two well-defined mountain areas in the northwest and center of the countrybut in winter most of the population of Western Europe winters in sub-Saharan Africa, occupying part of the Mediterranean coastal strip and the Guadalquivir river valley, with a specific presence in the Ebro Valley.
In Spain’s Red Bird Book, the degree of endangerment of the species could not be assessed due to the lack of information on the status and trend of the populations. With the currently available information, there is a slightly regressive trendthe species cannot be considered endangeredalthough the degree of isolation of their populations, together with the effects that climate change will cause in their habitat, represent risk factors that could negatively affect their conservation status.
The three bird species are associated with the mountains of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula and are highly sensitive to habitat loss. mainly due to climate change. From today until January 7, online voting is open to the public web.