Rotor

Yep they look like golandrinas to me, the Bee Eaters will be here soon as well.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirundo_rustica

fionamw

They're already here, though not yet on their regular-as-clockwork east in the morning, home to the west in the evening, routes!

Swallows - afaik there is a mediterranean species too - we see them as well as the more common (to UK eyes) black/blue & white with red under chin. Med ones are more muddy brown, though without my book to hand that may of course be mediterranean martins. Swifts very different, as everyone has said.

Swallows swoop on our pool even when we're in it. Don't know who's more suprised when it happens, them or us!
Ref hornets & lizards, our lizards work well dealing with the hornets which attempt to fry themselves on the outside light when we're sitting out in the evening!

jdr

Yep, no red on them,just black and white, clearer pic now taken later in the morning with the sun on them.
18 birds in this pic, so at a guess there must be around 200+ on the wires total.

Dick Dasterdly

House Martins. They do tend to breed in bigger numbers or communes than swallows. No orangie red under the chin and no extended fork tail like the swallow.

Relampago

I believe that the swallow to which you refer is the golondrina Daurica (Hirundo daurica, Hirundo rustica, etc), in English swallow hirundo

Spain is very rich in ornithology, and part of its fauna (birds, mammals, reptiles, etc) it is only autochthonous of the Iberian peninsula

Rotor

Know of any books on the subject en inglés?

Dick Dasterdly

I presume by autochthonous,you mean only native to one specific area in the World?
I used to spend some time up in the Teide National park in Tenerife, where apparently 25% of the plants were native only to Teide, 25% were native only to Tenerife, 25% were native only to the Canaries, leaving only 25% that could be found elsewhere outside the isles.

Casa Santo Estevo

maybe a website would be just as good?

Iberianature This is a great resource.

Rotor

V good site,Many Thanks.