The Aragon region of the Pyrenees—A stronghold for birds of prey in Europe

The importance of the Aragon region of the Pyrenees in northern Spain for birds of prey is discussed. During field observations in the summers of 1979 and 1982, 19 species of bird of prey were recorded within 80 km of the village of Berdun. Three additional species have also been seen by other observers, thus over four-fifths of the raptorial species recorded in Spain have occurred in this small area.Simple daily counts showed an average of 38 birds of prey of 6·4 species seen per field day. These compare favourably with similar counts made in other parts of Europe.The observations suggest that a significant proportion of Europe's griffon vultures (see Table 1) and lammergeiers occur, the latter representing 7% of the European population. The future of vultures in the area is briefly discussed.