Birds of Morocco - Page 5 of 19

Presumed Collared x Pied Flycatcher hybrid at Merzouga, Morocco

11 April 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Presumed hybrid Collared X Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis X F. hypoleuca), Merzouga, Morocco, 10 April 2019 (Marc Illa).

A presumed Collared x Pied Flycatcher hybrid ringed yesterday at Merzouga Ringing Station by Marc Illa, Ivan Maggini, Armando Aispuro and Georg Gruber. The bird was caught and ringed by experienced ornithologists who known what they are doing. Despite this, they added the adjective ‘presumed’, because they know that the identification of hybrid Ficedula flycatchers […]

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Franklin’s Gull at Merzouga Lake, Morocco

9 April 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan), Merzouga Lake, Morocco, 8 April 2019 (Marc Illa).

A cracking adult Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) photographed at Dayet Srij, a small temporary lake near Merzouga. It was discovered yesterday by Marc Illa, Ivan Maggini and Georg Gruber. This is the 10th record of this North American species for Morocco. It’s also the first one found far inland, all previous records were found on

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Dunn’s Lark at Merzouga, Morocco

28 March 2019 / Birding News, Birds of Morocco

African Dunn’s Lark / Alouette de Dunn (Eremalauda dunni), Merzouga, Morocco, 26 March 2019 (Jeroen De Bruijn).

Dunn’s Lark reappeared at Merzouga almost 7 years later. Dunn’s Lark was discovered at Merzouga in April 2010 by a group of Austrian birders (Ernst Albegger and his colleagues). Breeding of the species was confirmed next month by Martin Barry, Benoît Maire and Alain Mathurin. Almost every birder who visited the area during this spring

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Andalusian Buttonquail in Morocco is declining

27 March 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Andalusian Buttonquail / Turnix d’Andalousie (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus): an adult female at Sidi Abed, Morocco, 12 June 2010 (Carlos Gutiérrez-Expósito)

The last known Andalusian Buttonquail population is declining and its suitable habitats are shrinking according to a study published recently in Global Ecology and Conservation. The Common Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus) is widely distributed in Africa and South Asia and is currently categorized as ‘Least Concern’ in the IUCN Red List. However, the nominate subspecies –

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Breeding of Golden Nightjar in Morocco confirmed

20 March 2019 / Birding News, Birds of Morocco

Golden Nightjar / Engoulevent doré (Caprimulgus eximius) protecting its two young, Aousserd, Western Sahara, southern Morocco, 18 March 2019.

Breeding of Golden Nightjar in the Aousserd region, southern Morocco finally confirmed. An adult protecting two young were found at Oued Chiaf located some 55 km NW of Aousserd. La reproduction de l’Engoulevent doré dans la region d’Aousserd au sud du Maroc est enfin confirmée. Un adulte protégeant deux jeunes ont été observés à Oued

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First records of Eastern Subalpine Warbler for Morocco

17 March 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Eastern Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans albistriata), Merzouga, Morocco (Marc Illa)

The split of the Subalpine Warbler complex (sensu lato) into three different species (i.e. Moltoni’s, Western and Eastern Subalpine Warblers) was proposed a few years ago. However, currently the Moltoni’s Warbler (Sylvia subalpina), which is the most divergent of the three taxa, is the only widely adopted split by different taxonomic authorities. Although the full

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Presumed ‘Cinnamon Teal x Shoveler’ hybrid at Merzouga lake, Morocco

9 March 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Presumed ‘Cinnamon Teal x Northern Shoveler hybrid’, Merzouga Lake, Morocco, 3 March 2019 (Frieder Klöpfer and Laura Lüdtke).

A presumed Cinnamon Teal x Northern Shoveler hybrid (Spatula cyanoptera x S. clypeata) was photographed at Dayet Srij near Merzouga, south-eastern Morocco. The bird was found by Frieder Klöpfer and Laura Lüdtke on 3 March 2019. The desert lake is full of water and birds. About 500 Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) and several species of

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Rare birds in Morocco: 24th report of the MRBC

24 February 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Golden Nightjar / Engoulevent doré (Caprimulgus eximius), Oued Jenna, Aousserd, 23 March 2017 (Sam Jones).

The 24th report of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) has just been published. In 2018, the MRBC examined 168 new records of which 157 were accepted. These included the first Moroccan records of: Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Smew (Mergus albellus), and Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata). The report included also the 2nd Balearic Spotted Flycatcher

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North African Buzzard is not a Long-legged but an allospecies of Common Buzzard

19 February 2019 / Bird Taxonomy, Birds of Algeria, Birds of Morocco, Birds of Tunisia

North African Buzzard / Buse du Maghreb (Buteo buteo cirtensis), Tinejdad, Morocco (Mustapha Houssaini‎)

The Atlas Long-legged Buzzard is more closely related to Common Buzzard than to Long-legged Buzzard according to a new study. The taxon cirtensis should be treated therefore as an allospecies of the Common Buzzard superspecies. La Buse du Maghreb est une alloespèce de la Buse variable: Selon cette étude, la Buse du Maghreb (cirtensis) est

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First Hume’s Leaf Warbler for Morocco and Northwest Africa

14 February 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Hume's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus humei), Taibai Shan, Central China (Ron Knigh)

A Hume’s Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus humei) was heard on 11 and 12 February at “Fôret Moulay Abdellah”, an urban park located inside Morocco’s capital Rabat by resident birder Pedro Fernandes. This would be the first record of this Asian vagrant for Morocco. I am on the road and without references, but I am sure it’s

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