Birds of the Canary Islands

This book gives a summary of the most notable and common breeding birds, as well as resting migratory birds of the Canary Islands. Many of the breeding birds here have evolved into endemic sub-species or even species, and are exclusive to these islands. For example, there are two sub-species of kestrel, occurring on the Eastern and Western Islands, respectively. Particularly remarkable is the island-specific development of individual sub-species of blue tit. Of exceptional rarity is the Canary Islands stonechat, which can only be found on Fuerteventura. It is thought that the reason for these developments is the isolated location of the Canary Islands; additionally, the islands were created in sequence by volcanic activity, and have been colonised from the mainland in several waves of immigration.