For decades, the African Wolf was misclassified as a subspecies of the Eurasian Golden Jackal (Canis aureus). This taxonomic confusion has only recently been clarified through extensive genetic and morphological studies, which have led to the recognition of the African Wolf as a distinct species. Here is the summary of its recent taxonomic history. Pendant
African Wolf: from a misclassified taxon to a full species Read More »
The House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) colonised Tangier in mid-2000. However, despite searching the species has never been recorded at Tétouan or at any other locality in northernmost Morocco outside of Tangier. The House Bunting at Tétouan was recorded thanks to Yousef El Ouahabi who had been observing them visiting his house to feed with the
House Bunting finally colonised Tétouan, northern Morocco Read More »
On 12 May 2012, we visited Smir wetland to observe and count the breeding populations at the adjacent heronry. Unlike last year, this breeding season was not very good for all nesting birds, drought and disturbance have probably both contributed to the failure of the breeding this season. Here are the numbers we have counted
This Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) photographed while catching a sharp-ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl) at a small pond near Sidi Bettache, western Morocco (Saad Rih). The prey, also known as Iberian ribbed newt, is a near threatened Ibero-Moroccan endemic. The Little Grebe is mainly piscivorous (fish-eater), although it’s known to take bigger prey such as newts (Wilkinson
Little Grebe catching a newt (Pleurodeles waltl) Read More »
The Maghreb is the equivalent term of Northwest Africa. Historically and in the narrow sense of the term, the Maghreb means the three countries linked by the Atlas Mountains (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) which also share a long history (this is also shared with neighbouring Libya and Mauritania depending on the historical era). The climate
Marsh Owl is a critically endangered species is Morocco. This piece tries to address one of the main current problems causing its decline. Your help, as a responsible birder or guide, is much needed. Marsh Owl (Asio capensis) is a typical owl restricted to Africa and its biggest island, Madagascar. Three subspecies are recognised: Globally,
Marsh Owl in Morocco: why it’s endangered and how to save it? Read More »
The Crimson-winged Finch sensu lato consists of two distinct taxa, alienus in Northwest Africa and sanguineus in the Middle East, Turkey, Caucasus, Central Asia and north-west China. The split of this taxon into two separate species, African Crimson-winged Finch (Rhodopechys alienus) and Asian Crimson-winged Finch (R. sanguineus), was first proposed by Kirwan et al. (2006).
African Crimson-winged Finch: a new endemic species Read More »
An article about variation of plumage coloration of Barbary Falcons in the Canary Islands has been published recently in the Bulletin of British Ornithologists’ Club. This paper has implications for Moroccan and North African falcons as well, e.g. hybrids – both natural and those related to escaped falconry birds, the ‘atlantis’ form of the Peregrine
Barbary Falcon plumage variation in the Canary Islands Read More »
The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) – or Lammergeier as some prefer to call it – is extremely rare in Morocco. It is considered Critically Endangered due mainly to the very small population size, restricted range and the ongoing threats from poisoning and disturbance from different sources (Thévenot et al. 2003, Cuzin et al. 2009 –
The House Bunting is expanding in Tangier, northern Morocco. Apart from the old Medina where it’s well established since years, the species can be now observed in many districts around the city. Up until the publication of ‘The Birds of Morocco’ (Thévenot et al. 2003), the House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) was only recorded as a