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Conservation News

Index of articles about bird conservation in the broad sense, these include pieces about:

– Species of conservation concern (declining and/or endangered species, range-restricted species,…). The articles can be about a success story, a worrying observation,…etc.; and

– Threats to birds and other wildlife (illegal hunting, illegal bird trade, bird electrocution,…). These articles have been written from the point of view of raising the awareness of the involved people (e.g. hunters) than about the problem per se. Generally, these are written mainly in Arabic and/or French (In the majority of them, an English version is included below in the same page).

Conservation of Double-spurred Francolin in Morocco

/ Birds of Morocco, Conservation News
Double-spurred Francolin / Francolin à double éperon (Pternistis bicalcaratus), Central Plateau, Morocco, 31 December 2021 (Abdeljebbar Qninba).

A report on recent efforts to conserve the Double-spurred Francolin in Morocco through its reintroduction to its former historic range. Double-spurred Francolin (Pternistis bicalcaratus) occurs in two disjoint areas. The largest population is distributed mainly in West Africa eastwards to Cameroon and south-western tip of Chad in Central Africa. The second population, which is much …

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Breeding of Griffon Vulture at Jbel Moussa, Morocco

/ Birds of Morocco, Conservation News
Griffon Vultures mating at Jbel Moussa, northern Morocco, January 2021 (Jbel Moussa Vulture Rehabilitation Centre).

Griffon Vulture started breeding again in Morocco following a very successful reintroduction trial at Jbel Moussa by the Moroccan Department of Forestry in cooperation with GREPOM. Watching Griffon Vultures mating and starting breeding for the first time ever at Jbel Moussa is a real joy. And that’s for several reasons, the most important of which …

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Algerian Nuthatch habitat threatened by a controversial project

/ Birds of Algeria, Conservation News
Algerian Nuthatch (Sitta ledanti), Bouafroun Forest, Djimla, Algeria, July 2019 (Walid Soukkou).

A project to create a “recreational forest” in the Bouafroun Forest in Djimla could jeopardise the habitat of the Algerian Nuthatch and other wildlife according to Algerian environmental activists. The project named “Bouafoune Forest for Entertainment and Recreation, Jijel” is developed by a private investor under the name “Bouafroune Services & Commerce Ltd”.  It was …

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GPS tags cause corneal opacity in Northern Bald Ibis

/ Conservation News
Northern Bald Ibis ‘SHORTY’ (ring number 028), Waldrappteam, LIFE Northern Bald Ibis.

Unilateral corneal opacity as a result of GPS tracking in a European Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) population released in the context of a LIFE+ reintroduction project Fritz J., Eberhard B., Esterer C., Trobe D. & Scope A. Waldrappteam | LIFE Northern Bald Ibis | 6162 Mutters, AustriaCorresponding author: Johannes Fritz | jfritz@waldrapp.eu | www.waldrapp.eu …

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Record breeding season for Northern Bald Ibis in Morocco

/ Birds of Morocco, Conservation News
Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) in Morocco (Youness Tamraoui).

The Northern Bald Ibis population in Morocco had yet another good breeding season in 2018 despite the adverse weather conditions during the chick rearing period. The breeding population in the two colonies of Souss-Massa National Park and Tamri has reached a record number of 147 breeding pairs (122 pairs in 2017, see graph below). The …

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Northern Bald Ibis’ IUCN Red List status updated

/ Birds of Morocco, Conservation News
Local conservation efforts for the Northern Bald Ibis have increased population number to over 147 breeding pairs in Morocco (photo by D. Faulder).

The conservation status of the Northern Bald Ibis has been improved from Critically Endangered to Endangered on the latest IUCN Red List assessment. L’état de conservation de l’Ibis chauve a été amélioré, passant de « En danger critique d’extinction » à « En danger » dans la dernière évaluation de la Liste Rouge de l’UICN. The Northern Bald Ibis …

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Andalusian Buttonquail declared extinct in Spain

/ Conservation News
Andalusian Buttonquail / Turnix d'Andalousie (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus), Doukkala region, Morocco, June 2014 (Carlos Gutiérrez Expósito).

The Spanish Government officially declared the Andalusian Buttonquail as extinct in Spain. This is the first bird species to go extinct in Europe since the extinction of the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) almost 170 years ago. There are, however, some differences between the two extinctions. The Great Auk is lost forever, whereas the Andalusian Buttonquail …

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Two Egyptian Vultures released in Italy shot and poisoned during migration

/ Conservation News
‘Bianca’, a young Egyptian Vulture released in southern Italy, and found dead in Tunisia. Probably died because of secondary poisoning (Hichem Azafzaf / Association "Les Amis des Oiseaux" (AAO)).

Two captive-bred Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) released in southern Italy last August died shortly after they started their migration. One bird shot dead by an illegal hunter in western Sicily, while the other died two days after it arrived to Tunisia, probably poisoned. The Egyptian Vulture in Italy: Egyptian Vulture numbers have decreased by more …

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