Bird watching
Italy is a natural bridge connecting continental Europe to Africa across the Mediterranean. The heterogeneity of natural habitats offers many opportunities to watch birds, starting from species typical of the Siberian taiga, such as the Pygmy Owl, to an Indo-African species such as the Bonelli´s Eagle.
The total number of bird species recorded for Italy is now 557 (2018)! Look also at our photo gallery and the Rarities Section. The latest report of the Rarity Committee is published in Avocetta.
The number of species recorded in Italy is the fourth in Europe after Spain (658), the UK (628) and France (591).
Most wanted Italian birds.
Marbled Ducks started to breed in Italy in recent years. The first breeding proof was in Sicily close to Mazara del Vallo. Since then it expanded its range along the Sicilian coast and in 2006 bred at Longarini marsh, Siracusa.
Italy hosts the biggest population of race feldeggi of Lanner. Italy hits the Northern limit of the world distribution of this African taxon. The northernmost limit is set in Emilia Romagna, where numbers usually may fluctuate; the main population is across the Apennines (from Tuscany to Calabria) and in Sicily. This island hosts the largest population with 80 breeding pairs, now declining.
Outside Israel, Italy is the only western country where Great Black-headed Gull can occur in winter regularly. Eastern Sicily is the only site where this happens. Out-of-range vagrants can occur virtually anywhere, from sea rocks to inland large rivers.
The intensively-sought Wallcreeper is a common breeder along the Alps and Appennines. However, it has a patchy distribution and it is difficult to spot. Some sites are located in remote alpine cliffs and therefore impossible to explore, and the species is more easily to be encountered during winter time when moving down from the mountain area.
The last individual of Lammergeier was extirpated from the Italian side of the Alps in 1913. The first breeding occurred after reintroduction in 1998 in Stelvio National Park; now at least 4 breeding pairs are known on the Eastern side of the Italian Alps and 3 pairs are present on the Western side. Vagrants, maybe from the Corsican population, are recorded sometimes in Sardinia.
The Rock Partridge is widespread in the Apennines and Italian Alps but it is not always easy to find. It prefers the rugged and rocky slopes above 1500 m asl. In Sicily, a different subspecies sometimes elevated at the level of true species, occurs, the Sicilian Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca Whitaker).
Moltoni´s Warbler has recently been treated as a full species and included in the new updated Italian Checklist. Italy is the only European country where all three Subalpine Warblers occur: Nominate subspecies S.(c.) cantillations and S.(c.) inornata, nesting in Southern Italy; Moltoni´s Warbler S. molto ii, nesting in most of Northern Italy and Sardinia; S.(c.) albistriata, with few pairs breeding in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Vocalizations are the best way to identify Moltoni´s Warbler in the field.
Pine Bunting is found to be a rare but annual winter visitor along the Tuscan coast and in heathland biotopes in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Magredi del Meduna). Scattered records could indicate small numbers overwintering occasionally elsewhere (Pianura Padana).
Treated alternatively by different authors, as a subspecies of House Sparrow P. domesticus or Spanish Sparrow P. hispaniolensis or sometimes believed to be a hybrid between the two, this intriguing taxon called Italian Sparrow, our national bird, is widespread from the Southern slope of the Alps down to Calabria. In Sicily, House Sparrows show intermediate features and are reported as P. domesticus male. Further analyses can clarify the taxonomic status of this taxon, which interestingly, occurs in Europe, only in Italy. Now is treated as Passer Italian, endemic species of Italy.