White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is one of the bird species that remarkably adapted to human activities. During the last decades, they started to take advantages of the rubbish dumps which provide an extra and constant food source throughout the year. This and other factors have led some birds in southern Spain and northwest Africa (Morocco …
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) has finally returned to breed in northern Morocco after it has deserted the region for nearly a century. An important breeding colony of the species was discovered in the heronry installed in dune vegetation near Smir marshes (northern Morocco) by one of us, Rachid El Khamlichi, on 1st May 2011. Several …
Breeding of Glossy Ibis at Smir heronry, northern Morocco Read More »
The Andalusian Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus) became almost extinct throughout its Mediterranean range except in Morocco where there have been more or less regular observations until 1988. Since that date, however, the species went undetected until 2000. Since the beginning of the new millennium, new sightings (including the first-ever photograph of a living wild bird …
Andalusian Buttonquail in Morocco and the Western Palearctic Read More »
Cape Gull – the African subspecies of the widespread Kelp Gull – does not breed at Khnifiss Lagoon, Morocco, as reported earlier by Bergier et al. (2009). A thorough analysis by Olof Jönsson of the available photographs showed that the large, dark-backed gulls breeding at Khnifiss are, in fact, Great Black-backed Gulls. This is the …
Status of Kelp Gull in Morocco and the Western Palearctic Read More »
The Eurasian Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) was until recently considered to be an accidental winter visitor to Morocco. Regular wintering was suspected in the north-west of the country but had been poorly documented. The ringing data collected in the Smir marshes during the period 2004–2008 indicate that Eurasian Penduline Tits regularly winter in Morocco. During …
Wintering of Penduline Tits (Remiz pendulinus) in Morocco Read More »
I found an Allen’s Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni) at Tahaddart estuary, just south of Tangier, on 16 January 2011. Unfortunately it was dead. Field work: That day, I joined a team from the Scientific Institute of Mohammed V University to participate in the annual mid-winter waterbird census in different wetlands of north-west Morocco. Before meeting the …
Allen’s Gallinule found dead at Tahaddart, Morocco Read More »
The White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) start breeding again in Morocco for the first time in almost a century. The endangered White-headed Duck went extinct as a breeding species in Morocco in the first half of 20th century. It also disappeared as a wintering visitor. The Spanish population has also decreased dramatically between the 1950s and …
The Cricket Warbler or Cricket Longtail (Spiloptila clamans) is a small bird native to the Sahel region where its breeding area is restricted to a narrow band stretching from southern Mauritania and northern Senegal eastwards to Sudan and Eritrea. The species has recently been discovered in Oued Jenna some 40 Km before the village of …
Breeding of Cricket Warbler at Aousserd, southern Morocco Read More »