The first proven breeding of Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) in Africa was found at an islet of Barrage Al-Massira in 2002 (Radi et al. 2004; Thévenot et al. 2004). Soon after, the species started to colonise other wetlands in Morocco and some sites in Algeria and Tunisia as well. The following sites is where the… Read More »
The House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) colonised Tangier since at least a decade ago and now is abundant in many parts of this big city. Then it colonised Tétouan since at least 2010. Now it moved to the countryside. Yesterday, Rachid El Khamlichi took a quick photo of one bird at Jbel Moussa. Taking into account the… Read More »
A Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis) was observed today at Safia reserve, Oued Dahab region by Abdeljebbar Qninba and members of the Association Nature Initiative (photo 4). This is the 5th Moroccan record for this species. Update: On 22 May, A. Qninba sent us an SMS with this information “a second Namaqua Dove with a very small tail… Read More »
A Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) was observed yesterday while birding at Sidi Abdeslam, east of Tétouan, only some kilometres from the Strait of Gibraltar. The sighting was very brief and Rachid was only able to get 3 record shots from a distance (photo 1). To our knowledge this is the first observation of this species… Read More »
House Buntings (Emberiza sahari) colonised Tangier in mid-2000 (Amezian et al. 2006), but it has never been recorded at Tétouan or at any other locality in northernmost Morocco outside of Tangier. The House Bunting at Tétouan was recorded thanks to Yousef El Ouahabi who had been observing them visit his house to feed with the… Read More »
Up until the publication of ‘The Birds of Morocco’ (Thévenot et al. 2003), the House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) was only recorded as a vagrant in Tangier. By mid-2000s, it started to breed in the Medina of Tangier (Birding World 19: 263). How the original nucleus population started to breed in Tangier, however, is still a… Read More »
The endangered White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) went extinct as a breeding species in Morocco in the first half of 20th century. It also disappeared as a wintering visitor. The Spanish population has also decreased dramatically between the 1950s and 1970s to just 22 birds in 1977. However, the population in Spain has since recovered and… Read More »
The Cricket Warbler or Cricket Longtail (Spiloptila clamans) is a small bird native to the Sahel region where its breeding area is restricted to a narrow band stretching from southern Mauritania and northern Senegal eastwards to Sudan and Eritrea. The species has recently been discovered in Oued Jenna some 40 Km before the village of… Read More »