- Length
- 16 cm
- Weight
- 21 g
Presence in the Strait
Common winter visitor to marshy areas.
Identification
Males are unmistakable in summer. In winter, only hint of a black bib with a grey throat, the head is brown with darker eyestripes and crown. Females in summer are similar to winter males but lacking broad white collar and darker brown ear-coverts; in winter plumage they have a paler head, buffish moustachial-stripe and no bib.
Movements
Postnuptial migration is more conspicuous; the first birds arrive towards the end of October, with peaks in 2nd hf. November. Prenuptial migration is hardly noticeable, more of a withdrawal from wintering areas, with peaks in 2nd hf. January.
Ring recoveries
Germany (2), Spain (2), Belgium (1), former Czechoslovakia (1), France (1), Holland (1) and Sweden (1).
Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.