Birding News - Page 6 of 6

Andalusian Buttonquail in Morocco and the Western Palearctic

6 April 2011 / Birding News, Birds of Morocco

Andalusian Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus), south of Sidi Abed, September 2007 (Benoît Maire)

The Andalusian Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus) became almost extinct throughout its Mediterranean range except in Morocco where there have been more or less regular observations until 1988. Since that date, however, the species went undetected until 2000. Since the beginning of the new millennium, new sightings (including the first-ever photograph of a living wild bird …

Andalusian Buttonquail in Morocco and the Western Palearctic Read More »

Status of Kelp Gull in Morocco and the Western Palearctic

10 March 2011 / Birding News, Birds of Morocco

Cape Gull (Larus dominicanus vetula), Khnifiss Lagoon, Morocco (Lars Andersen)

Cape Gull – the African subspecies of the widespread Kelp Gull – does not breed at Khnifiss Lagoon, Morocco, as reported earlier by Bergier et al. (2009). A thorough analysis by Olof Jönsson of the available photographs showed that the large, dark-backed gulls breeding at Khnifiss are, in fact, Great Black-backed Gulls. This is the …

Status of Kelp Gull in Morocco and the Western Palearctic Read More »

Breeding of Cricket Warbler at Aousserd, southern Morocco

9 December 2010 / Birding News, Birds of Morocco

Cricket Warbler / Prinia à front écailleux (Spiloptila clamans) with nest materials at Oued Jenna, Aousserd, 3 February 2010 (Fabian Schneider).

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. Inside the Western Palearctic region, the species was only known to occur in exterm north of …

Breeding of Cricket Warbler at Aousserd, southern Morocco Read More »