- Length
- 17 cm
- Weight
- 40 g
Presence in the Strait
Rare resident on Finca Guadacorte (Los Barrios). Only seen for 5 years between 1934 and 1.986, but since, more regularly. The first breeding record for Cadiz province was at Guadacorte in 1.987; later bred at El Gastor (1994) and El Bosque (2000). They prefer pine forests of Pinus halepensis.
Identification
Crossed mandibles, adapted to opening pine cones. Males are red above and below but females are greenish. Juveniles are grey-brown and heavily streaked bellow; their bills do not cross until their third week of life.
Movements
Sedentary with two types of movements: post-breeding dispersal, less apparent but brings about colonisation of new areas, and also winter irruptions, caused by the shortage of pine cones in the N of Europe, increasing presence over a wider area. The irrutions of 1990 and 1994 are worth mentioning.
Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.