The 25th report of the Moroccan Rare Birds Committee (MRBC) was published about three months ago. In 2019, the MRBC examined 71 new records, of which 58 were accepted. It should be noted that 2019 was a very “slow” year in comparison with the last five years where the number of examined records ranged between …
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 …
Morocco: sharing the birds – a Sound Approach guide Read More »
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 …
Saharan Cheetah filmed at Ahaggar, southern Algeria Read More »
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 …
Black-eared Wheatear split and new ‘melanoleuca’ record for Morocco Read More »
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 …
Split of Western and Eastern Subalpine Warblers confirmed Read More »
With the death of the last Mhorr Gazelle in the Bou Hedma National Park this year, the species becomes officially extinct in Tunisia. Dama gazelle (Nanger dama) is a Critically Endangered species endemic to the Sahel and Northwest Africa. Three subspecies are recognized, but only two are still surviving in the wild today (in Mali …
Two satellite-tagged Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus) from France and Spain have been tracked to Africa. One has reached as far south as the Niger-Nigeria border, while the other is touring northern Africa after having first spent the winter in the Sahel area. These are the first individuals GPS-tracked in their breeding areas in Europe to …
European Cinereous Vultures wandering across Africa Read More »
A Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus) named ‘Selja’ satellite-tracked from Finland died in southern Morocco last January. The cause of death is not electrocution as was feared initially. Selja was fitted with a satellite transmitter in central Finland in June 2018 as part of the research on Pallid Harrier carried out by Ari-Pekka Auvinen for the …
Satellite-tagged Pallid Harrier died in southern Morocco Read More »
Until recently, the Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina) used to be a rarity in Morocco. In fact, the species was only removed from the list of species that need to be submitted to the Moroccan Rare Birds at the end of 2017. At the end of February, Marc Illa and his colleagues arrived in Morocco in …
Abundant passage of Isabelline Wheatear in eastern Morocco Read More »
The first Eurasian Penduline Tits for Algeria were observed in Jijel region in autumn 2019 The Eurasian Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) has a wide breeding range stretching from the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to Central Asia. The northern population winters mainly in southern Europe and the Middle East. In Northwest Africa, the species remain relatively rare. …