الجزائر | ⵍⵣⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ | Algérie | Algeria

SUB-REGION
North Africa

SIZE
2,381,740 km² (1st largest country in Africa and 10th largest in the world)

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Palaearctic avifauna in the north, more Afrotropical in the south
Approximately 360 recorded species

Endemics (E)
Algerian Nuthatch (EN)

Birds occurring in only two territories of the ABC region but not near-endemics (1/2)
African Crimson-winged Finch

Tristram’s Warbler (Adam Riley)
African Crimson-winged Finch
(Augusto Faustino)
Houbara Bustard (John Caddick)

Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
North African Buzzard
Barbary Falcon
North African Blue Tit | Ultramarine Tit
Saharan Scrub Warbler
Saharan Olivaceous Warbler (reiseri)
African (Barbary) Reed Warbler
Atlas Chaffinch
Atlas Crossbill | North African Crossbill

Other taxa of interest, including endemic subspecies (ESS)
Ruddy Shelduck
Marbled Duck | Marbled Teal
Red-crested Pochard
Ferruginous Duck | Ferruginous Pochard
White-headed Duck
Common Quail
Barbary Partridge
Red-necked Nightjar (desertorum)
European Nightjar | Eurasian Nightjar (meridionalis)
Egyptian Nightjar (saharae)
Alpine Swift (tuneti)
Common Swift
Pallid Swift (brehmorum)
Little Swift (galilejensis)
Houbara Bustard
Common Cuckoo (bangsi)
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Spotted Sandgrouse
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Crowned Sandgrouse
Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse
Rock Dove (targia)
Common Wood Pigeon
European Turtle Dove (arenicola/hoggara)
Eurasian Collared Dove
African Collared Dove
Laughing Dove (phoenicophila)
Water Rail
Western Swamphen
Eurasian Stone-curlew (saharae)
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Cream-colored Courser
Collared Pratincole
Slender-billed Gull
Audouin’s Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Little Tern
Common Tern
European Storm Petrel
Scopoli’s Shearwater
Cory’s Shearwater
Yelkouan Shearwater
Balearic Shearwater
European Shag (desmarestii)
Little Bittern (minutus)
Squacco Heron
White Stork
Black-winged Kite
Egyptian Vulture
Griffon Vulture
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Booted Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Golden Eagle
Bonelli’s Eagle
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (punicus)
Western Marsh Harrier (harterti)
Montagu’s Harrier
Black Kite
Little Owl (glaux/saharae)
Eurasian Scops Owl (mallorcae)
Long-eared Owl
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Maghreb Owl
Blue-naped Mousebird
Eurasian Hoopoe
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (chrysocercus)
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Wryneck (mauretanica)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (ledouci)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (numidus)
Levaillant’s Woodpecker | Maghreb Green Woodpecker
Eleonora’s Falcon
Lanner Falcon (erlangeri)
Black-crowned Tchagra (cucullatus)
Woodchat Shrike
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Eurasian Jay (whitakeri, minor + cervicalis)
Maghreb Magpie
Red-billed Chough (barbarus)
Western Jackdaw (ESS cirtensis)
Brown-necked Raven
Northern Raven (tingitanus)
Coal Tit (ledouci)
Great Tit (excelsus)
Greater Hoopoe-Lark
Thick-billed Lark
Desert Lark (ESS mya)
Bar-tailed Lark
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
Woodlark (pallida)
Eurasian Skylark (harterti)
Thekla’s Lark
Crested Lark
Maghreb Lark
Temminck’s Lark
Greater Short-toed Lark (rubiginosa)
Calandra Lark
Dupont’s Lark (duponti/margaritae)
Mediterranean Short-toed Lark
Common Bulbul (barbatus)
Eurasian Crag Martin
Pale Crag Martin (spatzi/presaharica)
Western House Martin (meridionale)
Red-rumped Swallow (rufula)
Cetti’s Warbler
Western Bonelli’s Warbler
Iberian Chiffchaff
Great Reed Warbler
Western Olivaceous Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Savi’s Warbler
Zitting Cisticola (cisticola)
Eurasian Blackcap (heineken/pauluccii)
Western Orphean Warbler
African Desert Warbler
Tristram’s Warbler
Sardinian Warbler (melanocephala)
Western Subalpine Warbler
Common Whitethroat
Spectacled Warbler
Dartford Warbler (toni)
Fulvous Babbler
Common Firecrest (balearicus)
Eurasian Wren (kabylorum)
Short-toed Treecreeper (mauritanica)
Spotless Starling
Mistle Thrush (deichleri)
Common Blackbird | Eurasian Blackbird (mauritanicus)
Ring Ouzel (alpestris)
Black Scrub Robin
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (galactotes)
Spotted Flycatcher
European Robin (witherbyi)
Common Nightingale
Atlas Pied Flycatcher | Atlas Flycatcher
Black Redstart (gibraltariensis)
Common Redstart
Moussier’s Redstart
Blue Rock Thrush
European Stonechat
Atlas Wheatear | Seeböhm’s Wheatear
Desert Wheatear (homochroa)
Western Black-eared Wheatear
Red-rumped Wheatear
Black Wheatear (riggenbachi)
White-crowned Wheatear
Maghreb Wheatear
White-throated Dipper (minor)
Rock Sparrow (barbara)
Spanish Sparrow
House Sparrow (tingitanus)
Desert Sparrow (saharae)
Sudan Golden Sparrow
African Silverbill
Red-billed Firefinch
Alpine Accentor (collaris)
Western Yellow Wagtail (iberiae)
Grey Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
Hawfinch (buvryi)
Trumpeter Finch (zedlitzi)
European Greenfinch (voousi)
White-rumped Seedeater
Common Linnet (mediterranea)
European Goldfinch (parva)
European Serin
Corn Bunting
Rock Bunting
Cirl Bunting
House Bunting

National bird
Barbary Partridge | حجل بربري

Barbary Partridge
(Paul van Giersbergen)
Western Jackdaw (John Caddick)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (John Caddick)
White-throated Dipper (John Caddick)
Eurasian Jay (John Caddick)

MAIN HABITATS
Montane forest, desert

BIRD AREAS
North Algerian mountains Secondary Area
31 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Mount Babor and Taza National Park (NP) for Algerian Nuthatch and montane species
Belezma NP for montane species
Tassili n’Ajjer NP and Ahaggar NP for desert species

TIMING (Feb–Apr)
The north is best in spring, after the rains (Mar–May), and the south is best when cooler (Nov–Mar), so Feb–Apr is a good compromise
Passage migrants are numerous Sep–Oct and Feb–Apr
Afro-Palearctic migrants are most numerous Nov–Feb
Avoid Jul–Sep if possible

RESOURCES
Apps
Collins Bird Guide

Field guides
Collins Bird Guide by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney & Dan Zetterström (2022)

Sounds
The Bird Songs of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by Andreas Schulze & Karl-Heinz Dingler
Bird Sounds of Europe & North-west Africa by Jean C Roché & Jérôme Chevereau
Birds of North-west Africa/Oiseaux du Maghreb by Jean C Roché & Jérôme Chevereau
African Bird Sounds/Oiseaux d’Afrique Vol 1: North-west Africa, Canaria and Cap-Verde Islands/Sahara, Maghreb, Madère, Canaries & Iles du Cap-Vert by Claude Chappuis

Site guides
Algeria in The Good Bird Guide: a Species-by-Species Guide to Finding Europe’s Best Birds by Keith Marsh (2005)

Further reading
Oiseaux d’Algérie/Birds of Algeria by Paul Isenmann & Aissa Moali (2000)
Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: an Annotated Checklist by Dominic Mitchell (2017)
Algeria by N D Coulthard in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Les Dénombrements Internationaux d’Oiseaux d’Eau: Algérie 2009-2018 by Nadjiba Bendjedda, Mohamed Samir Sayoud, Abdellah Bennamane, Fatiha Bakaria, Said Fritas & Abdelkade Benkheirar (2021)
Les Zones Humides du Nord-Est Algerien en 1984 by B Chalabi, J Harrison & G van Dijk (1985)
Birding Constantine and Djimla Forest, a trip report by David Karr (2018)
Articles in La Revue Ornithologique (RNOOA), Alauda, Bull. ABC, etc.

Websites
Birds in Algeria – MaghrebOrnitho has everything about birds and birding in Algeria
Tassili n’Ajjer – UNESCO World Heritage List

Blogs
Algeria – North African Birds/Oiseaux d’Afrique du Nord

Facebook groups
Algerian Birds
Biodiversité en Algérie – Biodiversity in Algeria

ORGANISATIONS

There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Algeria

Bird or conservation organisations active in Algeria include –
Réseau National des Observateurs Ornithologues Algériens (RNOOA)
Mouvement Écologique Algérien (MEA)
Association ÉcoCirta, formerly Association Environnementale AquaCirta
Association Écologie Sans Frontière
Association Scientifique des Jeunes “Découverte de la Nature” (ASJDN)
Association Echourouk Proté Enviro
Association Verte de Mascara
Association Écologique Marine Barbarous
Association Écologique Tachemlit Ait Bouaddou
Association pour la Protection de l’Environnement de Béni-Isguen (APEB)
Association pour la Préservation de l’Environnement DARNA Saida
Centre Cynégétique de Réghaia
Tour du Valat

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