First record of Jacobin Cuckoo for North Africa

Jacobin Cuckoo / Coucou jacobin (Clamator jacobinus), Tamanrasset, southern Algeria, 5 Oct. 2019 (Karim Haddad).

Two Jacobin Cuckoos photographed at Tamanrasset in October 2019. This is the first record for Algeria and North Africa. Jacobin or Pied Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) is distributed in Africa south of the Sahara and in India and Sri Lanka. It’s very rare in the Western Palearctic region (WP). Members of the Association EcoCirta encountered this

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Lanner Falcons usurp a Buzzard’s nest after attacks (video)

Lanner Falcon brooding its four eggs after it had successfully driven off the original occupants of the nest, Boukra, Western Sahara, Morocco, 27 February 2019 (Kharraj et al).

After repeated attacks, the Lanner Falcons had successfully driven off the Atlas Long-legged Buzzards from their occupied nest. The usurpers went on to occupy the nest and lay their own eggs. The Atlas Long-legged Buzzard and Lanner Falcon are widely distributed throughout Morocco. Both species nest on cliffs and on trees. In the desert areas

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Recent Moroccan rarities: Laughing Gull, Olive-backed Pipits,…

Olive-backed Pipit / Pipit à dos olive (Anthus hodgsoni), Dakhla Bay, 19 Feb 2020 (Javi Elorriaga).

Some recent Moroccan rarities include a Laughing Gull, Olive-backed Pipits and Sudan Golden Sparrow in February and Kelp Gulls in the previous month. Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) A Laughing Gull was photographed on 14 February at Essaouira fishing port by Andrzej Kośmicki and Helena Trzeciak. There are 6 previous known records of this American species

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Northern Bald Ibis in Morocco since 1900: Analysis of ecological requirements

Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) named ‘Aylal’, Souss Massa National Park, October 2019 (Abdeslam Rihane)

How Northern Bald Ibis managed to survive in Morocco? In other words, which are the most important factors that determine the survival of the Northern Bald Ibis colonies in Morocco? A recent study gave us some good answers. Historically widespread, now reduced to a small restricted area Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) had once a

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Algerian Nuthatch habitat threatened by a controversial project

Algerian Nuthatch (Sitta ledanti), Bouafroun Forest, Djimla, Algeria, July 2019 (Walid Soukkou).

A project to create a “recreational forest” in the Bouafroun Forest in Djimla could jeopardise the habitat of the Algerian Nuthatch and other wildlife according to Algerian environmental activists. The project named “Bouafoune Forest for Entertainment and Recreation, Jijel” is developed by a private investor under the name “Bouafroune Services & Commerce Ltd”.  It was

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Dwarf Bittern and Eurasian Siskin at Nouadhibou, Mauritania

Dwarf Bittern (Ixobrychus sturmii), Nouadhibou, Mauritania, 23 Jan. 2020 (Sylvia van der Steen)

Dutch birders recorded the first Eurasian Siskin for Mauritania and the 11th Dwarf Bittern for the Western Palearctic at Nouadhibou a couple of days ago. Dwarf Bittern The Dwarf Bittern was found on 22 January 2020 by ‘Banc d’Arguin’, a small non-commercial Dutch travel company that organises overland trans-Sahara birding trips between Agadir and The

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Spanish Marbled Ducks migrate to Africa to escape hunters’ guns

Three Marbled Ducks satellite-tracked from El Hondo, south-east Spain, are in central Algeria. These are the only surviving birds out of a total of 27 Marbled Ducks.

A total of 27 Marbled Ducks were satellite-tracked in south-east Spain, of these only three have survived by migrating to Algeria. Most of the birds that stayed locally were shot dead or are missing. The most threatened duck in Europe With a decreasing population, the Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris) is classed globally as ‘Vulnerable’ in

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First White-rumped Seedeater for Algeria and W. Palearctic

White-rumped Seedeater / Serin à croupion blanc (Crithagra leucopygia), Tamanrasset, southern Algeria, 25 Dec 2019 (Mourad Harzallah).

White-rumped Seedeater observed at Tamanrasset, southern Algeria. This is the first record for the country and the Western Palearctic. En décembre 2019, un groupe d’ornithologues de terrain algérien a découvert le Serin à croupion blanc à Tamanrasset (les noms cités ci-dessous). Plus important encore, l’équipe a observé un adulte nourrissant un jeune (une preuve de

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