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Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
IUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Least Concern |
| 2009 | Least Concern |
| 2008 | Least Concern |
| 2004 | Least Concern |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
Species attributes
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Medium |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
Distribution
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 6,860,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 6,860,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Fragmentation | - |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | poor | Estimated | 2009 | |
| Population trend | Increasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 4 | - | - | - |
| Population justification: Shirihai et al. (2001) estimated the population to exceed 10 million individuals, but in Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 25-49 million breeding pairs, equating to 75-147 million individuals (BirdLife International 2004). Europe forms 75-94% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 79.8-196 million individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. | ||||
| Trend justification: The population is suspected to be increasing owing to afforestation and land use changes leading to increased shrubby growth in parts of its range (del Hoyo et al. 2006). In Europe, trends since 1980 show that populations have undergone a moderate increase (p<0.01), based on provisional data for 21 countries from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (EBCC/RSPB/BirdLife/Statistics Netherlands; P. Vorisek in litt. 2008). | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Algeria | Native | No | |||
| Andorra | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Armenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Austria | Native | No | |||
| Azerbaijan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bahrain | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belarus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belgium | Native | No | |||
| Benin | Vagrant | No | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bulgaria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Burkina Faso | Native | No | |||
| Burundi | Native | No | |||
| Cameroon | Vagrant | No | |||
| Cape Verde | Native | No | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | Native | No | |||
| Chad | Vagrant | No | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | Native | No | |||
| Croatia | Native | No | |||
| Cyprus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Czech Republic | Native | No | |||
| Denmark | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Djibouti | Native | No | |||
| Egypt | Native | No | |||
| Eritrea | Native | No | |||
| Estonia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ethiopia | Native | No | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Finland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| France | Native | No | |||
| Gambia | Native | No | |||
| Georgia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Germany | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Ghana | Native | No | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Greece | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | Native | No | |||
| Hungary | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iceland | Native | No | |||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iraq | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ireland | Native | No | |||
| Israel | Native | No | |||
| Italy | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Jordan | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Kazakhstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kenya | Native | No | |||
| Kuwait | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Latvia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lebanon | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Liberia | Native | No | |||
| Libya | Native | No | |||
| Liechtenstein | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lithuania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Luxembourg | Native | No | |||
| Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of | Native | No | |||
| Malawi | Native | No | |||
| Mali | Native | No | |||
| Malta | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mauritania | Native | No | |||
| Moldova | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mongolia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Montenegro | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Morocco | Native | No | |||
| Netherlands | Native | No | |||
| Niger | Native | No | |||
| Nigeria | Native | No | |||
| Norway | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Oman | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Palestinian Authority Territories | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Poland | Native | No | |||
| Portugal | Native | No | |||
| Qatar | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Romania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Central Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (European) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Rwanda | Vagrant | No | |||
| Saudi Arabia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Senegal | Native | No | |||
| Serbia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Seychelles | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sierra Leone | Native | No | |||
| Slovakia | Native | No | |||
| Slovenia | Native | No | |||
| Somalia | Native | No | |||
| South Africa | Vagrant | No | |||
| South Sudan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Spain | Native | No | |||
| Sudan | Native | No | |||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sweden | Native | No | |||
| Switzerland | Native | No | |||
| Syria | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Tanzania | Native | No | |||
| Tunisia | Native | No | |||
| Turkey | Native | No | |||
| Uganda | Native | No | |||
| Ukraine | Native | No | |||
| United Arab Emirates | Native | No | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom | Native | No | |||
| Uzbekistan | Native | No | |||
| Yemen | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Zambia | Native | No | |||
| Zimbabwe | Vagrant | No |
Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria
| Country/Territory | IBA Name | IBA link |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | Central Balkan |  |
| Bulgaria | Rila | |
| Bulgaria | Western Rhodopes | |
| Serbia | Obedska bara | |
Habitats & altitude
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Plantations | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Plantations | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Rural Gardens | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Rural Gardens | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Urban Areas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Boreal | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Temperate | major | breeding |
| Savanna | Dry | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | suitable | breeding |
| Shrubland | Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation | suitable | non-breeding |
| Shrubland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | breeding |
| Shrubland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 2200 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Utilisation
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food (human) | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | International | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Sport | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Sylvia atricapilla. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 22/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Sylviidae (Old World warblers) |
| Species name author | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Population size | mature individuals |
| Population trend | Increasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | 6,860,000 km2 |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
| - Summary information on this species | |
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