Was the Siberian rubythroat seen on Tenerife?
No. The bird was seen at the Ría de San Martín in Suances, a town on the north coast of Cantabria. For the Canary Islands, the research found no record of this species.
So nothing changes for holidaymakers in the south of Tenerife or for residents. There are no rules, prices, closures or deadlines linked to the bird, and neither the Cabildo (island government) nor the Gobierno de Canarias (regional government) has published anything on it.
Anyone who wants to see the bird would have to travel to Suances. The rarity and the photos on social media are already drawing many birdwatchers there.
What is a Siberian rubythroat and why does the sighting matter?
The Siberian rubythroat (Calliope calliope, ruiseñor calíope in Spanish) is a small insect-eating bird from Asia. It had never been recorded in Spain before this Wednesday, and ornithologists call the find historic.
It is slightly bigger than a robin and breeds in the conifer forests of Siberia. It spends the winter in India and Indonesia.
The male has a red throat, and the bird in Suances is a male. A second report, however, describes it as a young bird with brown plumage.
The University of Malta library counts 18 records in Europe between 1826 and 1995, excluding Russia. Most were in the British Isles and the Nordic countries, and the research found no newer totals for Europe or Spain.
Who found the bird, and what is happening at the Ría?
Orlando Parrilla and Abel Ojugas are credited with the find, and Ojugas took the photograph. He is president of the Asociación Proyecto Ría San Martín, which studies the area and calls for its protection.
On 24 July 2025 Ojugas reported another rarity at the same Ría: a playero aliblanco (Tringa inornata), a wader of North American origin. That sighting was also described as a first for Spain.
Ojugas sees both finds as support for giving the area protected status. According to reports, the Ría is the only estuary in Cantabria with no environmental protection at all.
Observers said the bird normally stays a few days and then moves on. They did not rule out that it might stay all winter.
Why did the bird stray so far off course?
Experts in Suances say the bird has gone far off its route. “This specimen has strayed very far from its usual routes”, is their assessment, though they add that such cases are common in all species.
Migratory birds that wander this far are called vagrants. A second report also raises the possibility of an escape from captivity, since the species is traded as a cage bird, alongside a misdirected migration.
Which explanation is right has not been settled. The sources give no evidence either way.
Have there been similar finds in the Canary Islands?
In October 2024 a bird of the species Vireo flavifrons was found in Adeje, Tenerife, at an altitude of 299 metres. The biologist Jaime A. de Urioste Rodríguez identified it, and the report went to the Fundación Neotrópico on 16 October 2024.
The Ayuntamiento de Adeje (town hall) raised the alarm, and the report called it a first for the Canary Islands as far as records go. Hurricane Leslie was named as a possible cause, but the report said nothing about official recognition.
The book “Todas las aves de Canarias” by Beneharo and Airam Rodríguez (Editorial Zech, 288 pages) lists 418 species reliably recorded up to December 2025. They include 9 endemic species and around 40 endemic subspecies, and the review gives no figure for vagrants.
In 2019 experts called the arrival of African and Siberian vagrants “slow but steady”, and the research found no newer trend data for 2024 to 2026. Uca Díaz counted 37 strong calima (Saharan dust) episodes in 2017 against four or five in earlier years, though other ornithologists saw too little data to blame climate change.
What happens next?
The Comité de Rarezas of the SEO (Spanish Ornithological Society) must still confirm the sighting, and the body has existed since 7 July 1984. It had published no decision or timetable by Friday 6 November 2026.
The protection of the Ría de San Martín is also still open. According to reports, ANEI status (Área de Especial Interés Natural, an area of special natural interest) has been requested since 2017 and went to public consultation in 2023, and in 2025 Ecologistas en Acción accused the regional government of letting the file lie.
For the Canary Islands there is nothing to do so far, for visitors or residents. If a record ever turned up on one of the seven islands, it would be a matter for the expert committees.