The first Eurasian Penduline Tits for Algeria were observed in Jijel region in autumn 2019
The Eurasian Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) has a wide breeding range stretching from the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to Central Asia. The northern population winters mainly in southern Europe and the Middle East.
In Northwest Africa, the species remain relatively rare. It was first observed in Morocco at Agadir in 1960 (a German-ringed bird). Since then, the species was observed at several wetlands mainly along the Atlantic coast but also at some inland sites (Thévenot et al. 2003). During a bird ringing study at Smir marches in northern Morocco, 50 birds were caught and ringed between 2004 and 2008 (Amezian et al. 2011).
In Tunisia, the species has been recorded four times in the period 1975–1990. No other known observation in that country since then until at least 2014 (Azafzaf et al. 2015). There have been no previous records in Algeria.
On 29 November 2019, a group of local naturalists observed and photographed three Penduline Tits at a reedbed located not far from the sea in Jijel region, northeast of Algeria. The birds include one adult male (photo above) and one first-winter juvenile (the lower bird in the photo below).
With the Jacobin Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) and the White-rumped Seedeater (Crithagra leucopygia), the Eurasian Penduline Tit is the third addition to the Algerian avifauna during 2019.
This observation will appear in the next issue of the journal Alauda:
Telailia, S., Ayyach, K., Harzallah, B., Hadj Aissa, D., Soukkou, W., Missoum, M. & Boutabia, L. 2020. Première observation de la Rémiz penduline Remiz pendulinus en Algérie. Alauda 88: 75-76.
References:
Amezian, M., Thompson, I., Bensusan, K., Cortes, J., Louah, A. & Qninba, A. 2011. On regular wintering of Eurasian Penduline Tits Remiz pendulinus in northern Morocco. Ostrich 82: 39-42.
Azafzaf, H., Feltrup Azafzaf, C., Dlensi, H. & Isenmann, P. 2015. Nouvelles données sur l’avifaune de Tunisie (2005-2014). Alauda 83: 7-28.
Thévenot, M., Vernon, R. & Bergier, P. 2003. The Birds of Morocco. BOU Checklist No. 20, Tring.