A new example of commensalism between geckos and birds reported from Algeria. A Common Wall Gecko laid eggs on White-crowned Wheatear’ nest. The White-crowned Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga) is a very good representative of desert birds. In North Africa, you know you are almost in the desert if you start seeing this species near the roads. […]
Commensalism between a gecko and White-crowned Wheatear in Algeria Read More »
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
Record breeding season for Northern Bald Ibis in Morocco Read More »
Eight falcons seized by the Tunisian customs at Ben Guerdane in southeastern Tunisia, near the border with Libya. From their appearances, we can see that most of them are Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) and maybe one or two Saker Falcons (Falco cherrug). Some could even be a hybrid between these two species. Comments on the ID
Eight falcons seized by Tunisian customs near Libya Read More »
A pair of Common House Martin breeding in winter in south-west Spain. Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) is a long-distance migratory species whose Palearctic populations are wintering mainly in Africa south of the Sahara. Some birds in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco don’t migrate and remain in the breeding areas throughout the year. However, to
Common House Martin breeds in winter in Spain Read More »
Another observation of Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) in Algeria and Northwest Africa in general. There were no documented breeding of the Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) anywhere in Northwest Africa since many years. In Morocco and Algeria, for example, the last known breeding pairs date back to the early 1990s. Despite this lack of observations, the
Tawny Eagle in north-west Algeria Read More »
An Isabelline Shrike – known also as Daurian Shrike (Lanius isabellinus) photographed at Tamri estuary on 2 January by Dutch birder Paul van der Poel and his wife. This is the second record of this Asian vagrant for Morocco. The first one was observed at the estuary of Oued Massa on 2 November 2004 (see
Second Isabelline Shrike for Morocco Read More »
An adult Wahlberg’s Eagle photographed in spring 2018 at El Haouaria, northern Tunisia. This is the first record for the country and third for the Western Palearctic. Un Aigle de Wahlberg adulte photographié en avril 2018 à El Haouaria dans le nord de la Tunisie. Il s’agit de la première observation pour le pays et
First Wahlberg’s Eagle for Tunisia and 3rd for WP Read More »
The African Silverbill (Euodice cantans) is distributed mainly across the Sahel region, East Africa and in the south and south-west of the Arabian Peninsula. There are also some isolated populations on both sides of the Sahel. In the Western Palearctic, the species breeds only in southern Algeria but its status is poorly known. For example,
African Silverbills at Tamanrasset, southern Algeria Read More »
With the expansion of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in Andalusia and the Iberian Peninsula in general, an increasing number of immature birds visit Morocco to winter. It’s in this context that an juvenile bird was found and tagged with a GPS transmitter for the first time in Africa. Status of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in
Spanish Imperial Eagle in Andalusia in 2018 & the first satellite-tagged bird in Morocco Read More »
The nearest breeding populations of the Western Reef Eegret (Egretta gularis) to Northwest Africa are located in coastal West Africa (nominate subspecies) and in the Red Sea (subspecies schistacea). On 17 July 2018, a dark-morph Western Reef Egret was observed in the Mekhada marches, a Ramsar site located in the wilaya of El Tarf, northeast
First record of Western Reef Egret for Algeria Read More »