The 22nd report of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) was published last May. In 2016, the MRBC examined 117 new records of which 99 were accepted. These included the first Moroccan record of Lesser x Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina x Clanga clanga), the second of both Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) and Masked Booby […]
A Pied Crow (Corvus albus) was photographed at Oum Azza, south-east of Rabat on 1 May 2017 by Petteri Lehikoinen and his group. The coordinates of the ‘village’ are: 33.8808333, -6.7858333 Since most of the birds seen in other regions are/were long-time residents, I think counting the localities where the species has been recorded is
The Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) breeds in northern North America (Canada and Alaska) and northern Siberia, and winters in southern South America, southeastern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. It’s one of the most observed Nearctic species in Western Europe and also in parts of the west coast of Africa. For example, the species was removed
The Red-billed Firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala) was introduced at Tamanrasset around 1940. It’s also present at El-Goléa, northern Sahara, since at least 1972 (Isenmann & Moali 2000). Currently, the species still present at the known sites cited above. Tamanrasset, Tamanrasset Province: The species is still present in the town and it’s easily seen there in good
The Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) continues to expand its breeding areas in Morocco. After the first breeding at Smir heronry near Tétouan in 2011, then at Merja Fouarat near Kénitra in 2013, and at Bouznika and an urban park at Casablanca in 2015, this year it started breeding at Oued Bou Regreg (on the Rabat side
A cat was photographed just after he caught a Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) at Rhourde el-Baguel, Ouargla province, eastern Algeria. The scene was captured by Fethi Saadaoui on 7 April 2017. Cats are known to catch a wide variety of birds, but catching an agile bird like a flycatcher is not easy. The bird must
Cats killing wildlife: Collared Flycatcher and Goldfinch Read More »
A Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) photographed at Barrage El-Mansour Eddahbi, Ouarzazate, on 18 March 2017 by Chris Townend during his Wise Birding tour to Morocco. It’s the 7th record for Morocco. Une Fuligule à tête noire (appelée aussi Petit fuligule selon Wikipedia) photographiée au Barrage El-Mansour Eddahbi le 18 mars par Chris Townend. C’est la
Lesser Scaup at Barrage El-Mansour Eddahbi, Morocco Read More »
The ‘Royal Tern’ is split into two species by the ‘IOC World Bird List’ in January 2020. The split is based on research published in 2017 and reported in this blog (see below) at the time. The original title of the blog when first published was “African Royal Tern should be split from the American
Robert Swann visited Morocco in late February to see two Western Palearctic rarities: Pied Crow and Kelp Gull. (See below the second photo for updates regarding the latter species). Pied Crow He started at Mhamid where he got good views of the “resident” Pied Crow (Corvus albus) on 23 Feb. Here is his comment: I spotted
White-throated Bee-eater at Dakhla Bay: second record for Morocco and the Western Palearctic. The White-throated Bee-eater was found at Dakhla Bay, Oued Dahab region on 28 February 2017 by Billy Herman and Annelies Jacobs. It’s the second WP record for the species. It should be remembred that the first record was observed at the site
White-throated Bee-eater at Dakhla: 2nd WP record Read More »