Rethinking the Turtle Dove taxonomy and conservation

/ Bird Taxonomy, Conservation News
European Turtle Dove/Tourterelle des bois (Streptopelia turtur), Ghardaia, Algeria (Djamel HADJ AISSA).

New study suggests no subspecies-level differentiation between Turtle Dove populations on either sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. It concluded that the species should be treated as a single conservation management unit. The European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a migratory bird species with a deep cultural heritage across the Mediterranean region and beyond. However, […]

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Lesser Flamingo breeds in North Africa for the first time

/ Birds of Tunisia

After decades of dispersal movements in North Africa, the Lesser Flamingo makes its first breeding attempt in the region. For decades, the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) was considered a rare, accidental visitor to the Maghreb, but recent years have shown a interesting shift in their dispersal behaviour. Historically, sightings of this “Near Threatened” species in

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Double-spurred Spurfowl camera-trapped at Oued Korifla

/ Birds of Morocco
Double-spurred Spurfowl camera-trapped at Oued Korifla, North-west Morocco (H. Iallaten et al)

A Double-spurred Spurfowl (Pternistis bicalcaratus ayesha) was photographed by a camera trap at a private hunting reserve in Oued Korifla on 27 March 2025. Two days later, two vocalizing individuals were recorded a few kilometres north of the site. The Korifla valley is within the species’ historical range, but no known records have been documented

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Moroccan Marsh Owl is on the brink – Photographers, beware!

/ Birding News, Birds of Morocco
Moroccan Marsh Owl (Asio capensis tingitanus), Merja Zerga (Max Baumgarten).

Today is the International Owl Awareness Day. Let’s talk about one of the most endangered species in Morocco; and address a taboo that many local photographers still refuse to acknowledge. بومة المستنقعات المغربية على حافة الانقراض!  بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للتحسيس بالبوم وأهميته البيئية، نوجه نداء إلى مراقبي الطيور ومصوري الحياة البرية، وخاصة المغاربة: لا تساهموا

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Pink-backed Pelican in northeast Algeria

/ Birds of Algeria
Pink-backed Pelican / Pélican gris (Pelecanus rufescens), Wilaya of Mila, northeast Algeria, 4 February 2025 (Mourad Harzallah/Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association)

A Pink-backed Pelican observed in the Wilaya of Mila, northeast Algeria.Un Pélican gris observé dans la wilaya de Mila, au nord-est de l’Algérie. A Pink-backed Pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) was recorded on 4 February 2025 at Barrage Hammam-Grouz, Wilaya of Mila, northeast Algeria. Abdelmalek Lemgoureb, a member of the bird monitoring unit in Mila, shared the news about

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