Index of birding news that are of interest to Western Palearctic birders. These include, among others, ‘mega rarities’ found in Northwest African, potential vagrants to the WP from adjacent areas, and other interesting articles.
Other birding news and national rarities (including many “first national records”) are filed under their respective country.
First breeding record of the House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) in mainland Spain and Europe. By: Antonio Jesús Sepúlveda & Julio Ortega (Tumbabuey). The appearance of the House Bunting as an African vagrant in the Iberian Peninsula dates back to a decade and a half ago, with a first record in 2009 in the town of …
House Bunting breeding in Spain and Europe for the first time Read More »
The return of Golden Nightjar, Sudan Golden Sparrow, and other Aousserd interesting birds after they had been missing for the last few years. Understandably, their absence during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic was due to travel restrictions. Some birders who visited the Aousserd region last year did miss some of the Western Palearctic rarities …
Golden Nightjar, Sudan Golden Sparrow at Aousserd Read More »
Sighting of a Pied Crow on the northern edge of the Sahara in Algeria.Observation d’un Corbeau pie dans la limite nord du Sahara en Algérie. In early April 2023, Nedjla Adamou and Assem Zerouala found the Pied Crow in Laghoaut, located on the northern edge of the Algerian Sahara. After its discovery was shared, Mohamed …
Hooded Bulture at Jbel Moussa, northrn Morocco. It’s the first observation of the species in the country in more than six decades.Un Vautour charognard observé à Jbel Moussa au nord du Maroc. C’est la première observation de l’espece dans la pays depuis plus de six décennies. An immature Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) observed with a …
The White-rumped Seedeater was recorded in southern Algeria for the first two years ago by a group of Algerian naturalists. Karim Haddad visited the region again with his colleague Larbi Afoutni less than a month after their previous trip (when they recorded Blue-naped Mousebirds and Black Scrub Robins in the Wilaya of In Guezzam). In …
Status of White-rumped Seedeater in southern Algeria Read More »
During a recent trip to southern Algeria, members of EcoCirta found groups of Blue-naped Mousebird and two Black Scrub Robins. They are, respectively, the second and third records for Algeria. From 20 to 28 December 2021, the EcoCirta Environmental Association organized its sixth naturalist expedition to the far south of the Algerian Sahara in order …
Blue-naped Mousebirds and Black Scrub Robins in southern Algeria Read More »
A recent birding trip to southern Algeria produced three new bird species for the country: White-throated Bee-eater, Village Indigobird and Cut-throat Finch. [See also the results of another group’s expedition: Blue-naped Mousebirds and Black Scrub Robins in southern Algeria]. A group of amateur and professional Algerian researchers organized a birding expedition in southern Algeria in …
First White-throated Bee-eater, Village Indigobird and Cut-throat Finch for Algeria Read More »
Two very rare visitors from North America and the Arctic landed in Morocco recently: Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Lapland Longspur. Lapland Longspur A Lapland Longspur was found at a small pond near Dayet Dar Bouazza on 13 November 2021 by Benoit Maire. Dayet Dar Bouazza and the adjacent pond where the bird was found are small …
First Lapland Longspur and 2nd Yellow-billed Cuckoo for Morocco Read More »
An African White-backed Vulture photographed at Tarifa, southern Spain. October and November is the time of Griffon Vulture migration at the Strait of Gibraltar. Thousands of juvenile and immature birds cross the Strait at this time to winter in Africa. And their African cousins, Rüppell’s and White-backed Vultures, tend also to occur with them at …
A Sudan Golden Sparrow (Passer luteus) captured at Ceuta during a ringing session. On 3 October, the Chagra Ringing Group captured an unexpected bird during a ringing session at Punta Blanca in Ceuta: a juvenile Sudan Golden Sparrow. How it arrived this far north? While the possibility of a natural arrival can’t be discarded, so …