Fieldfare

Turdus pilaris

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Presence in the Strait: Occasional
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Zorzal real

Photograph: Михаил Голомысов, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 26 cm
Weight: 100 g

Presence in the Strait

Occasional winter visitor escaping very cold weather in C Europe.

Identification

Slightly smaller than a Mistle Thrush, with grey crown and nape, red-brown back and ochrecoloured underparts with heavy spotting. In flight, prominent white underwings, black tail and grey rump.

Ring recoveries

Finland (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

40 %

Peak in January. 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: 16 February 1972
Latest record: 19 March 2021

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: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · wintering or migrating
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.

Where they come from

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

Finland1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Common Blackbird24–25 cm · Resident
Ring Ouzel24–24 cm · Migrant
Mistle Thrush27–27 cm · Resident
Song Thrush23–23 cm · Seasonal
Redwing21–21 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
GBIF taxon key: 2490737

Sources

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

Fieldfare

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Ring recoveries

Gallery