Bird observations at Sidi Toui National Park, Tunisia

Dupont’s lark / Sirli de Dupont (Chersophilus duponti)

The authors from the Zoological Society of London report their bird observations at Sidi Toui National Park made during six surveys (in 4 years). Although the main focus of the surveys was to monitor the oryx and gazelle populations, their ornithological records were nevertheless very important as they added new information about the birds of …

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Breeding of Griffon Vulture at Jbel Moussa, Morocco

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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New to Algeria: African Crake, Red-tailed Shrike and Little Bunting

Red-tailed Shrike / Pie-grièche du Turkestan (Lanius phoenicuroides), Skikda, northern Algeria, 9 Oct. 2020 (Youcef Karrit)

Three species new to Algeria were discovered in autumn 2020: Red-tailed Shrike, Little Bunting and African Crake. The Red-tailed Shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides) was discovered and photographed at Skikda on 9 October by Youcef Karrit. This is also the first record for the whole Northwest Africa. Other closely related species are also very rare in the …

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Spanish Marbled Ducks tracked to Africa

This GPS-tracked Marbled Duck made a round-trip from Spain to Algeria and back in about 24 hours (Ecology Research Group at Miguel Hernandez University of Elche)

Movements of two satellite-tracked Marbled Ducks (Marmaronetta angustirostris) from Spain to North Africa. One of them, made a spectacular round-trip in 24 hours. As part of the ‘Marbled Duck reintroduction project’ in the Valencian Community (SE Spain), 21 birds were fitted with GPS-trackers and released into El Hondo Natural Park (Some birds are of wild …

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Morocco: sharing the birds – a Sound Approach guide

‘Morocco: sharing the birds’ by Arnoud B van den Berg & The Sound Approach

The new Sound Approach title ‘Morocco: sharing the birds’ is to launch on 1 July 2020 and is now available for pre-order. Morocco: sharing the birds – A Sound Approach guide to birds of the MaghrebBy: Arnoud B van den Berg & The Sound ApproachISBN: 978-90-810933-9-2NUR-code: 435Published by: The Sound Approach, Enefco House, 19 The …

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Saharan Cheetah filmed at Ahaggar, southern Algeria

Saharan cheetah / Guépard saharien (Acinonyx jubatus hecki), Ahaggar Cultural Park, Algeria, March 2020 (ONPCA)

Northwest African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) was filmed by remote cameras at the Ahaggar Cultural Park in the Algerian Sahara. For the first time in more than a decade, the Saharan Cheetah (a.k.a. Northwest African Cheetah) spotted again in the Ahaggar Mountains in Tamanrasset, southern Algeria. The news was announced today during a press conference …

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Black-eared Wheatear split and new ‘melanoleuca’ record for Morocco

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca) captured and ringed at Merzouga, south-east Morocco, 8 March 2020 (Marc Illa).

The ‘Black-eared Wheatear’ is split into two separate species by the ‘IOC World Bird List’ based on recent genetic research. The first modern record of the Eastern Black-eared Wheatear has arrived just in time. Le Traquet oreillard est composé de deux taxons, qui sont considérés jusqu’à présent comme des sous-espèces : un taxon nominal occidental …

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Split of Western and Eastern Subalpine Warblers confirmed

Western Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia iberiae) photographed in Morocco by Phil Gower.

A new study confirmed that the ‘Subalpine Warbler’ complex is indeed composed of three different species (Moltoni’s Warbler, Western and Eastern Subalpine Warblers). The ‘IOC World Bird List’ accepted the split as proposed by the study. (Note: the main research about the “taxonomy of the Subalpine Warbler species complex” between mid-1990s and 2013 is well …

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