The 23rd report (for 2017) of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) is published. In 2017, the MRBC examined 116 new records of which 111 were accepted. These included the first Moroccan records of the following four species and one genus:
- Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera),
- Fea’s/Desertas/Zino’s Petrel (Pterodroma feae/deserta/madeira),
- Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis),
- Baird’s Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii), and
- Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla),
The report included also the 2nd record of Pochard x Ferruginous Duck hybrid (Aythya ferina x Aythya nyroca) and White-throated Bee-Eater (Merops albicollis), the 3rd and 4th Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus fuscus), the 5th American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica), the 5th and 6th Lesser Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina), the 5th to 9th Golden Nightjar (Caprimulgus eximius), the 6th Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) and Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), the 6th to 8th Pied Crow (Corvus albus), the 7th Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) and Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), the 8th Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) and Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola), and the 9th to 18th Golden Sparrow (Passer luteus).
Other noteworthy records includes the 10th Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis), the 12th Common Loon (Gavia immer), the 14th Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus), the 14th and 15th Eurasian Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), the 15th to 20th Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus), the 16th Broad-billed Sandpiper (Calidris falcinellus) and Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), the 23rd and 24th Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), the 26th to 28th Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), the 27th Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) and Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina).
Full report:
Fareh, M., Maire, B., Laïdi, K., Franchimont, J. & CHM. 2018. Les oiseaux rares au Maroc. Rapport de la Commission d’Homologation Marocaine, Numéro 23 (2017). Go-South Bulletin 15: 25–44.
