Callum Macgregor

Very common, intermediate-sized songbird. Breeding range includes all of Europe north to c. 62°. Has increased significantly over most of range. Breeds in wide range of deciduous forests and woodland, parks and gardens. Insectivorous, but diet consists mainly of berries and fruits during the non-breeding season. Intermediate to long-distance migrant, partial migrant or resident in southernmost part of range. Shown to be able to rapidly adapt migratory habits, e.g. wintering population in the British Isles recently established (Plummer et al. 2015).

Season of assessment

B

Population trendIncreasing
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		88400000-138000000,108000000
Red List categoryLC
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for Eurasian Blackcap

Clear migratory divide running N-S at 14° in C Europe separates southwesterly and southeasterly migrating populations. C European birds breeding close to the divide follow both routes, with a few moving due S to Italy. Most SW migrants winter Iberia and NW Africa, with a few reaching W and C Africa south of theS ahara. Scandinavian breeders mainly migrate SE, but southern Norwegian birds move SW. SE migrating birds pass through the Middle East and winter from E Mediterranean, Sudan region south to E Africa, although there are no E African recoveries to support this. C and W European birds move to the North Sea coast before migrating SW. There is some reverse autumn migration to Norway, N Atlantic islands and Iceland. Tracking studies reveal UK winterers connect to breeding sites scattered across Europe (Delmore et al. 2020).

Recoveries by Condition for Eurasian Blackcap

Numbers encountered increase exponentially from tens in 1950 to around 25,000 annually at present. There is a peak in late August/early September. The vast majority of encounters are recaptures. Shot birds are virtually absent after 1991, but were over 30% prior to 1960.

Annual Movements for Eurasian Blackcap

SW birds start moving N in Mar, with mass arrival in W Europe and the British Isles in the first 10 days of April. Passage of SE birds in the Middle East from the end of Mar through to the end of May, with a late peak around mid-May suggests E African origin. Arrival in E Europe and Fennoscandia is mainly in May. On autumn migration, SW birds pass through France and Spain in Aug and Sep and arrive in NW Africa from the end of Sep. Stragglers reach the N Atlantic islands in Sep and Iceland in Oct–Nov. There are many winter recoveries of European breeders in the British Isles with a few also found on the coast of the Netherlands. Autumn passage in the Middle East occurs in Aug–Oct.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Eurasian Blackcap

Birds along the migratory divide in Apr mostly connect to wintering sites in SW, but in May-June there are connections to both SW and SE, illustrating differential timing of migration of SW and SE birds. Birds in the British Isles in winter mainly connect to sites within the British Isles in winter, and to W and C Europe in Sep-Oct, but connections to central Europe in Apr-May are very scarce. British Isles and W European breeders in Apr–Jun strongly connect to southern Spain, Morocco and Algerian coasts in Oct–Mar. Birds on passage in Sep–Oct show a similar pattern but are also linked to W and Cl European breeding sites in Apr–May. Birds wintering in Greece, Cyprus and the Middle East and birds passing through the Middle East Mar–Apr strongly connect to breeding and passage sites in E Europe and southern Fennoscandia in May–Sep.

Henk van der Jeugd

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries
References Map
Delmore, K.E., van Doren, B.M., Conway, G.J., Curk, T., Garrido-Garduño, T., Germain, R.R., Hasselmann, T., Hiemer, D., van der Jeugd, H.P., Justen, H., Lugo Ramos, J.S., Maggini, I., Meyer, B.S., Phillips, R.J., Remisiewicz, M., Roberts, G.C.M., et al.2020 . Individual variability and versatility in an eco-evolutionary model of avian migration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 287 article no.: 20201339 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1339)
Plummer, K.E., Siriwardena, G.N., Conway,G.J., Risely, K., Toms, M.P.2015 . Is supplementary feeding in gardens a driver of evolutionary change in a migratory bird species?. Global Change Biology 21 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13070) : 4353–4363

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