MaghrebOrnitho

DNA confirms Slender-billed Curlew is a valid species

20 April 2019 / Bird Taxonomy

Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), Merja Zerga, Morocco, winter 1995 (Chris Gomersall)

The mitochondrial genome of the presumably extinct Slender-billed Curlew is sequenced for the first time. This confirmed that the species is genetically distinct from the related curlews. The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) is one of the rarest bird species in the Palearctic region. Despite its rarity, it’s still officially categorized as a “Critically Endangered” species

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Yellow-browed Warbler at Merzouga, Morocco

14 April 2019 / Birds of Morocco

Yellow-browed Warbler / Pouillot à grands sourcils (Phylloscopus inornatus), Merzouga, Morocco, 13 April 2019 (Marc Illa).

A Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) caught and ringed at Merzouga Ringing Station yesterday by Marc Illa and his co-workers. Marc wrote in an email that “The bird had some fat, indicating probably a long flight, so perhaps coming from south of the Sahara (as it has been already documented to happen)”. [For non bird ringers,

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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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Lesser Flamingo at Oued Souss, Morocco

28 March 2019 / Bird Behaviour

Lesser Flamingo / Flamant nain (Phoeniconaias minor), estuary of Oued Souss, Morocco, 1 Jan. 2019 (S. Werner).

An adult Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) was observed at the estuary of Oued Souss on the 1 January 2019 by a Swiss birding group (K. Varga, D. Henseler, S. Werner and R. Wüst). This is the 16th record for Morocco, and the third in Oued Souss. The next day, the bird was still present at

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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 in Morocco is declining and its suitable habitats are shrinking according to a recently published study. 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 – known as the

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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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