Report on rare birds in Spain 2009. This is the 26th annual report of the Spanish rarities committee (Comité de Rarezas de SEO/BirdLife). This report includes 291 records on the presence of 84 rare bird taxa, with an acceptance rate of 75%. The report contains nine additions to the Spanish Bird List: Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica, white-backed vulture Gyps africanus, African purple swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio of the race madagascarensis, hudsonian whimbrel Numenius phaeopus of the race hudsonicus, bridled tern Onychoprion anaethetus, belted kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon, Naumann's thrush Turdus naumanni and black-and-white warbler Mniotilta varia. Having agreed acceptance criteria, the first accepted records of Caspian gull Larus cachinnans registered since 2005 are also included in this report. Second records for Spain of hooded merganser Mergus cucullatus, white wagtail Motacilla alba of the race subpersonata, house bunting Emberiza sahari and of a petrel assigned to the species pair Zino's/Fea's petrel Pterodroma madeiralfeae, are reported. Also accepted as second for the country is the record of a saker falcon Falco cherrug marked with a satellite transmitter in Hungary that crossed the Iberian Peninsula. Recorded for the third time are American coot Fulica americana, Ross's gull Rhodostethia rosea, booted warbler Hippolais caligata and Swinhoe's storm petrel Oceanodroma monorhis, which is also the first for the Canary Islands. Other new additions to the Canary Islands are least sandpiper Calidris minutilla and long-billed dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus. In 2009, a breeding pair of long-legged buzzard Buteo rufinus was confirmed for the first time ever, as well as red-billed tropicbird Phaethon aethereus in the Canary Islands for the third time and little swift Apus affinis in southern Spain for its tenth consecutive year too. The report also reflects an exceptional winter arrival of Iceland gull Larus glaucoides and glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus.
