Steppe birds in Andalusia

In the immense dry cereal fields that still dot the Spanish geography, a group of extraordinary birds struggles to survive. They are the steppe birds, specialists evolved to exploit the great open plains.

On this page you will learn about: 1) The steppes of Andalusia, 2) What are the steppe birds, 3) The adaptations of these birds to survive, 4) Where are the best Andalusian steppes, 5) Where and when to come and 5) FAQ & tips.

In Spain, and specifically in Andalusia, some 25 species of steppe birds almost exclusively occupy open, treeless steppe ecosystems.

These habitats tend to be, to a large extent, extensions of cereal crops, although not exclusively. Because of this close relationship, these birds can also be considered and associated as agricultural birds or birds of agricultural environments.

The steppe species are the great victims of modern European agriculture, whose populations have plummeted dramatically in recent decades. While the traditional crops that supported them disappear under intensive irrigation, fruit orchards and super-intensive olive groves, these emblematic species – such as the majestic Great Bustard, the elusive Little Bustard or the unique Iberian Pin-tailed Sandgrouse – see their habitat reduced to mere fragments.

Andalusia, once one of its strongholds, still preserves some crucial, but increasingly threatened, strongholds where these birds resist as living witnesses of a vanishing agricultural landscape.

The “steppes” in Andalusia

A steppe is a flat, open and arid ecosystem, dominated by low herbaceous vegetation, with hardly any trees, and subjected to extreme climates of cold and heat. In Western Europe, the largest extensions are found in Spain: the two plateaus, Extremadura and the Guadalquivir valley.

Steppe birds: birds of herbaceous crops and cereal pseudosteppes.

Steppe birds in Andalusia are defined as those species linked to open environments dominated by rainfed arable crops, large expanses of grassland and peripheral salt marshes, such as those associated with Doñana. The arid woody environments of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula are excluded (espartales, tomillares, cushion scrub), which form a distinct ornithological community and are not strictly speaking steppe-like.

The absence of natural steppes in Andalucía

In Andalusia there are no natural steppes as such. The steppe character derives from traditional agricultural and livestock uses that have created open and treeless landscapes. Only small enclaves with natural stipa vegetation are found in areas of relief, which are not usually favorable for “walking” steppe birds.

Andalusian cereal pseudo-steppes

The Andalusian cereal steppes are agricultural landscapes, the result of centuries of human activity, dominated by rainfed crops (wheat, barley, oats), with the presence of fallow land, borders and pastures. They have a gentle relief and little tree cover, which favors nesting on the ground and foraging in open spaces.

They are mainly located in the Guadalquivir Valley (Seville, Cordoba, Jaen, Cadiz), the countryside of Huelva and inland areas of Granada. In the eastern provinces (Almería, Granada) they are scarcer and more fragmented due to the expansion of olive groves and irrigation.

These pseudosteppes are home to a unique ornithological community, with species threatened on a European scale. They also serve as wintering areas for migratory birds from northern Europe.

Guide to Andalusian steppe birds

This guide introduces you to the species that inhabit the cereal pseudosteppes of the Guadalquivir valley and the arid scrublands of the Iberian southeast, from the majestic Great Bustard – Europe’s heaviest flying bird – to the elusive Eurasian Skylark, a passerine as rare as it is specialized.

RESIDENT STEPPE BIRDS IN ANDALUSIA

Great Bustard(Otis tarda)

In danger of extinction. Emblematic bird of the great cereal plains. The Andalusian population does not exceed 350 individuals. Its main threat is agricultural intensification and habitat transformation, which reduce the availability of insects for nestlings.

Little Bustard(Tetrax tetrax)

In danger of extinction. It inhabits rainfed crops, pastures and cleared pastures. Its decline is pronounced due to the conversion of cereal crops to irrigated land and olive groves, as well as illegal hunting and collisions with power lines.

Iberian Pin-tailed Sandgrouse(Pterocles alchata)

Vulnerable. Characteristic bird of sandbanks, salt marshes and salt marshes, with its main nucleus in Doñana. Gregarious species, sensitive to habitat loss and illegal hunting. Its Andalusian population is stable but very localized.

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse(Pterocles orientalis)

Vulnerable. It occupies cereal and woody steppes. It requires areas with spatial heterogeneity and water points. In clear decline due to the transformation of its habitat to olive groves, irrigation and reforestation, especially in Jaén and Granada.

Stone Curlew(Burhinus oedicnemus)

Vulnerable. Bird of open environments, both cereal fields and pastures and meadows. More adaptable than other steppe birds, it tolerates a certain presence of trees. Its decline is mainly due to agricultural intensification and disappearance of boundaries.

Calandra Lark(Melanocorypha calandra)

One of the largest aukids. Abundant in cereal steppes, where it is usually dominant in the community. In regression due to the loss of fallow land and the use of agrochemicals.

Lesser Short-toed Lark(Calandrella rufescens)

Near threatened. Small aludid of coastal and marsh steppes. It forms lax colonies in soils with sparse vegetation. Its regression is remarkable in the Almeria coast due to the expansion of greenhouses and urban pressure.

MIGRATORY STEPPE BIRDS IN SPAIN

Montagu’s Harrier(Circus pygargus)

Vulnerable. Raptor that nests on the ground in cereal fields. Its main threat is early mowing, which destroys nests. Marking and nestling rescue programs have improved breeding success in some areas.

Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)

Near threatened. Small colonial falcon that breeds in rural and historic buildings. Its population has stabilized thanks to reintroduction programs, installation of nest boxes and conservation measures in architectural restorations.

CollaredPratincole (Glareed Pratincole)

Wader that nests in bare soils peripheral to wetlands. Colonial and summer visitor. Very sensitive to nest predation and water fluctuations. Its main Andalusian nucleus is in the Guadalquivir marshes.

Greater Short-toed Lark(Calandrella brachydactyla)

Small aukid closely related to rainfed crops and pastures. Together with the Calandra Lark, dominant in cereal steppes. Decline associated with agricultural intensification and disappearance of boundaries.

Common Quail(Coturnix coturnix)

Migratory bird that breeds in herbaceous crops. Populations fluctuate considerably. Threatened by early mowing, pesticides and intensive hunting. Key species in the diet of steppe predators.

WINTERING BIRDS, COMMON IN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Common Crane(Grus grus)

Large bird that winters in pastures and meadows in the north of Córdoba and Jaén. Its roosts in reservoirs and wetlands are of great importance. Sensitive to disturbance and habitat transformation.

Hen Harrier(Circus cyaneus)

Common wintering raptor in cereal steppes and marshes. It uses these open spaces to hunt small mammals and birds. Its winter presence adds value to these habitats.

European Golden Plover(Pluvialis apricaria)

Wintering wader in wet grasslands and marshes. Forms numerous flocks. Depends on the conservation of wetlands and traditional livestock management that maintains open pastures.

OTHER COMMON BIRDS IN ANDALUSIAN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Red-legged Partridge(Alectoris rufa)

A common game species in agricultural and scrubland environments. Although not threatened, its populations have declined due to changes in agricultural management, overhunting and loss of boundaries. Indicator of steppe habitat quality.

Black-shouldered Kite(Elanus caeruleus)

Small unmistakable raptor with pale gray plumage, immaculate white and characteristic black spot on the shoulder, with intense red eyes. Although not strictly steppe, it frequents open environments with scattered trees such as pastures and countryside, where it hunts on the prowl. Infrequent, but expanding.

Avifauna of the low scrublands of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula

Southeastern Andalusia is home to some of the most arid relief and mountain ranges in Europe, a landscape marked by extreme water scarcity and intense sunshine. On poor and poorly developed soils, the vegetation is reduced to a sparse herbaceous cover, giving rise to extensive formations of low scrub and the dominant presence of gullies and “badlands” – eroded land and furrowed by ravines – that define a unique ecosystem of great ecological fragility.

Habitat characterization

Environments dominated by low scrubland (espartales, tomillares, aulagares), with poor soils, scarce herbaceous cover and presence of badlands. Typical of the provinces of Almeria, Granada and east of Malaga.

Eurasian Skylark ricotí

Emblematic species and bioindicator of the health of the Iberian steppe ecosystems.

Eurasian Skylark(Chersophilus duponti)

Endangered. Resident and very sedentary bird that nests exclusively in grasslands and low shrublands in arid steppe zones. Its populations are very small and in steep decline. Threatened by the transformation and fragmentation of its habitat (reforestation, intensive crops, infrastructure) and by the abandonment of extensive grazing.

Avifauna of the low and arid scrublands.

Representative species: Black Wheatear, Spectacled Warbler, Trumpeter Finch, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (in its woody facet). They present adaptations to aridity and a remarkable biogeographic singularity.

Specific conservation problems

Threatened by reforestation, the establishment of crops under plastic, overgrazing, nest predation and the development of energy infrastructures (wind farms).

Adaptations of steppe birds

In the grassy plains, open and arid environments, life faces extreme conditions: scarce and dispersed resources -especially water-, lack of shelter for resting or nesting, and constant vulnerability to predation.

Highly specialized adaptations

Steppe birds have developed a unique set of morphological and physiological adaptations to survive in open and arid environments. Their cryptic plumage mimics the ground and low vegetation, essential for species such as Great Bustards, Little Bustards and ground-nesting auklets. The stout legs of birds such as Great Bustard and Stone Curlew are adapted for walking long distances on flat terrain, while Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Iberian and Ortega) have specialized ventral feathers with a fluffy structure that allow them to transport water to their chicks, a unique adaptation to aridity. Species such as the Trumpeter Finch Eurasian Bullfinch have developed an efficient metabolism that allows them to survive with little water, selecting seeds with high lipid content whose metabolism generates metabolic water. Steppe passerines (Eurasian Skylarks, terrestrials) preferentially orient their nests to the north to minimize direct insolation during the hottest hours of the day, reducing thermal stress on nestlings. These integrated mechanisms allow them to exploit structurally simple but ecologically demanding environments, although current anthropogenic transformations often exceed their adaptive capacity.

The danger of predation

Ground nesting, common in most steppe birds, carries a high risk of predation that has shaped their reproductive strategies. To compensate for this vulnerability, they have evolved evolutionary mechanisms such as frequent replacement clutches, short incubation periods and nestlings that leave the nest quickly after hatching. Outside the breeding season, many species exhibit gregarious behavior, forming flocks that favor collective detection of predators. These birds also develop anti-predator vigilance strategies based on living in groups and alternating between feeding and alert periods. Despite these adaptations, nest predation remains one of the main causes of reproductive failure, especially in simplified agricultural environments where opportunistic predators find few food alternatives.

Food and living space

Steppe birds have a generalist diet that includes seeds, insects and plant matter, which allows them to take advantage of seasonally variable resources. However, during their first weeks of life, nestlings are mainly insectivorous, depending critically on the availability of insects for their development. These birds make large daily movements between feeding, roosting and watering areas, using efficient navigation systems in open spaces without prominent visual landmarks. Their space use strategy is based on the exploitation of dispersed and variable resources, requiring extensive areas to satisfy their ecological needs. This feeding and movement pattern allows them to survive in landscapes where resources are scarce and unpredictable, although the fragmentation and reduction of their current habitat threatens this life strategy based on mobility and trophic flexibility.

The two Andalusian steppes

Andalusia presents two biogeographical realities clearly differentiated by its mountains and plains, which configure equally distinct landscapes and steppe bird communities.

Western Andalusia: The cereal pseudo-steppes of the Guadalquivir

Dominated by the broad plains of the Guadalquivir valley, this region is home to the main cereal pseudosteppes of Andalusia: the Campiñas of Cordoba and Seville (Utrera-Las Cabezas, Osuna), La Janda and the periphery of Doñana. These are agricultural landscapes of rainfed arable crops, fallow land and pastures, which also include the salt marshes on the periphery of Doñana. Here are concentrated the most relevant populations of steppe birds of open environments, such as the Great Bustard, the Little Bustard and the Iberian Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, as well as dense populations of Montagu’s Harrier and Lesser Kestrel. It is the area with the greatest richness of agricultural steppe birds and an important wintering area for species such as the Crane.

Eastern Andalusia: High plains and arid woody environments.

Characterized by the mountainous orography of the Sierras Beticas, this region presents a mosaic of high plateaus, plains and slopes with a more arid climate: Altiplano de Granada, Baza, Guadix, Hoya de Guadix, Tabernas. The cereal pseudosteppes are scarce and fragmented, coexisting with extensive areas of low open scrub (espartales, tomillares, badlands). It is home to a specialized and unique avifauna, adapted to arid conditions, such as the Eurasian Skylark, the Trumpeter Finch and the Little Bustard, together with residual populations of Little Bustard. This community, typical of arid woody environments, faces threats such as the abandonment of grazing, greenhouses and reforestation.

Important Areas for Steppe Birds in Andalucía

The technical documents defining and describing the ZIAE were prepared in 2005, within the framework of the “Program for the Conservation of Steppe Birds in Andalusia” (Programa de Conservación de las Aves Esteparias en Andalucía).

Important Steppe Bird Areas (ISAB) are not a legal figure of protection, but may coincide with protected areas. They correspond to hot spots for steppe birds and arid environments.

The network comprises 24 areas totaling more than 500,000 hectares spread over the eight Andalusian provinces. It has been a pioneering diagnosis that continues to be the fundamental reference for any conservation initiative in this area.

Acknowledgment: Julia Guerra Carrande for the photographs.