House Bunting breeds in Europe for first time

House Bunting has bred in Europe for the first time, with a pair raising two youngsters in Algeciras in southern Spain.

The colonisation of Spain by House Bunting has been anticipated for a few years, with this North African species a common and increasing resident as far north as the northern coast of Morocco, including in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. It has spread north in recent times, with an increase in Spanish records following the first in 2009 in Tarifa.

One of the adult House Buntings in July (Javi Elorriaga/Birding The Strait).

On 22 June this year, an adult male was found singing and seemingly holding territory in a residential part of the city of Algeciras, in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia. Approximately a week later, another adult male and a female-type were found, which marked the first occurrence of multiple birds in Spain.

The birds lingered in the area, being studied by local birders Antonio Jesus Sepúlveda and Julio Ortega. Then, on 8 September, a juvenile was seen being fed by an adult. Three days later, on 11 September, a second juvenile was witnessed.

Climate change is a likely factor in the northerly spread of House Bunting, and it seems likely that further breeding records will occur in Iberian peninsula in the years to come.