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

/ Birds of Morocco
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

/ Birds of Algeria, Conservation News
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

/ Birding News
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

/ Bird Migration, Birds of Algeria
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

/ Birding News, Birds of Algeria
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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New records of Moltoni’s Warbler in Algeria

/ Birds of Algeria
Moltoni’s Warbler / Fauvette de Moltoni (Sylvia subalpina), El Borma, Ouargla, Algerian Sahara, 7 April 2019 (Alex Viechec)

The recent split of the Moltoni’s Warbler (Sylvia subalpina) as a full species is widely adopted by different taxonomic authorities. However, until the end of the 20th century, the Moltoni’s Warbler wasn’t even considered as a valid subspecies of the “Subalpine Warbler”. For some details, read: “Moltoni’s Warbler: from an invalid ‘subspecies’ to a full

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House Bunting reaches Algeria’s Mediterranean coast

/ Birds of Algeria
House Bunting (Emberiza sahari), Tissemsilt, northern Algeria (Mohamed Maïrif).

House Bunting found breeding at the Casbah of Algiers. It’s the first observation of this ‘southern’ species on the Mediterranean coast of the country. The House Bunting (Emberiza sahari) is a widely distributed species across North Africa from Morocco to western Libya. And it’s also patchily distributed in the Sahara from Mauritania to Chad. Although

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