North African Ostrich eggs unearthed at Bir Anzarane, southern Morocco

/ Birds of Morocco
North African Ostrich eggs found near Bir Anzarane, Oued Dahab region, southern Morocco

Three intact eggs of the North African Ostrich found near Bir Anzarane in Oued Dahab region. Trois œufs intacts d’autruche d’Afrique du Nord trouvés près de Bir Anzarane au sud du Maroc. In mid-May 2019, ‘Nature Initiative Association’ member Mohammed Fathi found three intact ostrich eggs at Taguerzimt near Bir Anzarane, Oued Dahab region. The […]

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First photographed Rüppell’s Warbler in Algeria

/ Birds of Algeria
Rüppell's Warbler / Fauvette de Rüppell (Sylvia ruppeli), Djanet, south-east Algeria, 8 Dec. 2018 (K. Haddad & L. Afoutni)

The Rüppell’s Warbler (Sylvia ruppeli) breeds in northeastern Mediterranean (Greece, Turkey and small area in northwestern Syria), and winters mainly in the eastern part of the Sahel (Chad, Sudan). In Northwest Africa, the species is rare except in Libya where it’s a regular migrant. In Algeria, Isenmann & Moali (2000) cited only two previous records

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Sand Cats resting in bird nests built in tall Acacia trees

/ Mammals
Sand Cat (Felis margarita) resting in Brown-necked Raven nest, southern Morocco (J. M. Bompar and co-authors)

Sand cats found resting in Brown-necked Raven nests. This original and previously undocumented behaviour was discovered in Western Sahara, southern Morocco. During a naturalist trip in the Dakhla-Aousserd region in autumn 2018, Jean-Michel Bompar and his colleagues found three sand cats (Felis margarita) resting in the nests of Brown-necked Ravens (Corvus ruficollis). The nests were

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Moltoni’s Warbler in Morocco, Terek Sandpiper in Tunisia

/ Birds of Morocco, Birds of Tunisia
Moltoni’s Warbler (Sylvia subalpina), Merzouga, Morocco, 18 Apr. 2019 (Marc Illa).

Some recent rarities: Moltoni’s Warbler, Franklin’s Gull, Lesser Flamingo and Dunn’s Lark in Morocco and a Terek Sandpiper in Tunisia. Moltoni’s Warbler (Sylvia subalpina) A bird was captured and ringed at Merzouga Ringing Station, Morocco, on 18 April 2019 (Marc Illa and his co-workers). Only four records have been accepted by the Moroccan Rare Birds

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DNA confirms Slender-billed Curlew is a valid species

/ Bird Taxonomy
Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), Merja Zerga, Morocco, winter 1995 (Chris Gomersall)

The mitochondrial genome of the presumably extinct Slender-billed Curlew is sequenced for the first time. This confirmed that the species is genetically distinct from the related curlews. The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) is one of the rarest bird species in the Palearctic region. Despite its rarity, it’s still officially categorized as a “Critically Endangered” species

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Presumed Collared x Pied Flycatcher hybrid at Merzouga, Morocco

/ Birds of Morocco
Presumed hybrid Collared X Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis X F. hypoleuca), Merzouga, Morocco, 10 April 2019 (Marc Illa).

A presumed Collared x Pied Flycatcher hybrid ringed yesterday at Merzouga Ringing Station by Marc Illa, Ivan Maggini, Armando Aispuro and Georg Gruber. The bird was caught and ringed by experienced ornithologists who known what they are doing. Despite this, they added the adjective ‘presumed’, because they know that the identification of hybrid Ficedula flycatchers

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