This wheatear with a strange plumage was photographed in Morocco by Chris Smallbones last March and forwarded to us by his colleague Mike Langman. It’s difficult to assign a name to this ‘white-eared wheatear’. It appears that it’s an abnormal individual. But, is it a Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucura) or maybe a hybrid between this […]
Mystery wheatear (Oenanthe sp.) photographed in Morocco Read More »
During a short stop at the rubbish dump of Fnideq, we discovered a Pied Crow (Corvus albus) among many Northern Ravens (Corvus corax) and Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis). We should note that the behaviour of the crow we saw was that of a perfectly wild bird. It was very shy as it’s the first to
Pied Crow at Fnideq, northern Morocco (2015-2020) Read More »
The saved vulture was wing-tagged and successfully released (see below). النسر الأسمر تم ترقيمه ثم إطلاق سراحه بنجاح في محمية جبل موسى كما كان منتظرا تمت يوم الأحد 8 مارس عملية إعادة النسر الأسمر (الذي شاركنا قصته معكم الأسبوع الماضي) إلى البرية بنجاح بعد إعادة تأهيله جراء تعرضه لماس كهربائي خلال مروره بشمال مدينة طنجة
A young Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) photographed yesterday at Jbel Toubkal, Western High Atlas Mountains (Ali Irizi). Our colleague Ali had this special encounter with the Bearded Vulture when he was hiking on the southern slope of Jbel Toubkal. The excellent photos he took are probably among the best of the species in Morocco. We
Bearded Vulture at Jbel Toubkal, High Atlas, Morocco Read More »
Can a non-marked wader be relocated months after first sighting? Well, this is possible in only few cases including when the bird is leucistic and is alone in the region (so easily identifiable). This is the case of a leucistic Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) photographed for the first time in the intertidal zone between El Jadida
Leucistic Whimbrel becomes much whiter after moult Read More »
The Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), an invasive species from South America, found breeding at Tangier for the first time. The story began when Alfonso Escajadillo O Connor, a naturalist and birder from Peru, observed 6 individuals of Monk Parakeet nest building in a Phoenix canariensis tree at Tangier on 12 February 2015. When Alfonso met
A male Sudan Golden Sparrow (Passer luteus) was photographed yesterday at a drinking site near Bir Anzarane, about 140 Km north-east of Dakhla, southern Morocco. The species was recorded during a scientific trip coordinated by the Association Nature Initiative (A.N.I). Abdeljebbar Qninba first saw and identified the species, Abdelaziz Benhoussa, Mohamed Ibn Tattou, Mohamed Laghdaf Khayya, Hicham El
Sudan Golden Sparrows at Bir Anzarane, Western Sahara Read More »
Recent sightings of Bearded Vulture in a National Park in Algeria give new hope that the species may still survive in the country. This is definitely good news for the species in Algeria and the whole of Northwest Africa. The news was released by the staff of the Theniet El Had National Park (Lahouari Djardini
A probable Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) was found and photographed at Dar Bouazza near Casablanca on 27 December 2014 by Benoît Maire. This is would be the first Moroccan record for the species if accepted by the MRBC. The relatively recent split of the Wilson’s Snipe from the Common Snipe (G. gallinago) means that the Nearctic species is still
Probable Wilson’s Snipe at Dar Bouazza, Morocco’s Atlantic coast Read More »
The 20th report of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) has just been published. In 2014, the MRBC examined 109 new records of which 92 were accepted including four species new to Morocco: Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis): seen at Oualidia in June 2014. This is also the first record for mainland Africa. Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia