Six amazing birds you can see in Barcelona
Barcelona is not just a city of noise and concrete, it is also full of winged life. Among the buildings, in the parks and even on the busiest streets, there are amazing birds that have made the city their home. We offer you a selection
Bernat Pescaire (Ardea cinerea)
It is the largest bird that breeds in Barcelona and has done so at the zoo since 1974, when a pair settled there in an elm tree that has now disappeared. To feed its chicks, the heron flies to catch fish in the Besòs or Llobregat rivers. It also visits the large parks in the city and the metropolitan area.
CHOT (Otus scops)
It is the smallest nocturnal bird of prey in Catalonia and an expert at camouflage. It lives in open, not too dense forests or in large parks such as those of Montjuïc or those near Collserola. It can even breed in groves of large avenues (they have been heard singing in the streets around the Plaça de Joan Miró).
PUPUD (Upupa epops)
It is a summer species, although it has been common, for some years now, to see individuals throughout the winter in Barcelona. Its scientific name could be an onomatopoeia of its song, a repeated pu-pu-pu, pu-pu-pu. It nests in Montjuïc, in Tres Turons and in different parks adjacent to Collserola.
COMMON CHORIGUER (Falco tinnunculus)
The kestrel is widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. It mainly lives in open spaces, but has adapted well to the urban environment. In the city it nests in holes in buildings (false ceilings, vents, rainwater partitions, etc.), and sometimes it drives out pigeons. There are very stable populations in the church of Pi, for example, where the species has been breeding for more than twenty years.
MALLERENGA STABBED (Lophophanes cristatus)
It is a European-wide distribution tit, typical of pine forests, but it is also found in oak and holm oak woods. Easy to detect by its call, a "tweet" followed by a high-pitched and vibrant twitter. It makes a nest of branches and leaves, covered with hair and moss, in the holes of trees. It is easily found in large city parks.
PIT-RED (Erithacus rubecula)
The robin is distributed throughout Europe, parts of Asia, the Near East and North Africa. It is a forest bird that requires a well-developed undergrowth to breed. Sedentary birds breed in the large parks with undergrowth found at the foot of Collserola, in Montjuïc and in the three Turons. They also breed in parks and green spaces on the coast, such as the Barcelona Zoo or the Estació del Nord park, among others.