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 400 recorded species

Endemics (E)
Algerian Nuthatch (EN)

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

Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
North African Buzzard
Central African Hoopoe
Barbary Falcon
North African Blue Tit | Ultramarine Tit
Saharan Scrub Warbler
Saharan Olivaceous Warbler
African (Barbary) Reed Warbler
Atlas Chaffinch
African Crimson-winged Finch
Atlas Crossbill | North African Crossbill

Other taxa of interest, including endemic subspecies (ESS)
Ruddy Shelduck
Marbled Duck | Marbled Teal
Red-crested Pochard
Common 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)
African Houbara
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo (bangsi)
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Spotted Sandgrouse
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Crowned Sandgrouse
Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse
Rock Dove (targia)
Stock Dove
Common Wood Pigeon
European Turtle Dove (arenicola/hoggara)
Eurasian Collared Dove
African Collared Dove
Laughing Dove (phoenicophila)
Namaqua Dove
Water Rail
Common Moorhen | Eurasian Moorhen
Eurasian Coot | Common Coot
Red-knobbed Coot
Western Swamphen
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Common Buttonquail
Eurasian Stone-curlew | Eurasian Thick-knee (saharae)
Black-winged Stilt
Pied Avocet
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Cream-colored Courser
Collared Pratincole
Little Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Whiskered Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black-headed Gull
Audouin’s Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Scopoli’s Shearwater
White Stork
Great Cormorant
European Shag (desmarestii)
Eurasian Spoonbill
Little Bittern (minutus)
Black-crowned Night Heron
Little Egret
Squacco Heron
Western Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Black-winged Kite
Egyptian Vulture
Griffon Vulture | Eurasian Griffon
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Lesser Spotted 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 (epops)
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
White-throated Bee-eater
African Green Bee-eater
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (chrysocercus)
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Wryneck (mauretanica)
African Grey Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (ledouci)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (numidus)
Levaillant’s Woodpecker | Maghreb Green Woodpecker
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel | Eurasian Kestrel
Eleonora’s Falcon
Lanner Falcon (erlangeri)
Black-crowned Tchagra (cucullatus)
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Woodchat Shrike
Eurasian Jay (whitakeri/minor/cervicalis)
Maghreb Magpie
Red-billed Chough (barbarus)
Western Jackdaw | Eurasian Jackdaw (ESS cirtensis)
Brown-necked Raven
Northern Raven | Common 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)
European Red-rumped Swallow
Cetti’s Warbler
Western Bonelli’s Warbler
Iberian Chiffchaff
Great Reed Warbler
Western Olivaceous Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Savi’s Warbler
Zitting Cisticola (cisticola)
Cricket Warbler
Eurasian Blackcap (heineken/pauluccii)
Western Orphean Warbler
African Desert Warbler
Tristram’s Warbler
Sardinian Warbler (melanocephala)
Western Subalpine Warbler
Common Whitethroat | Greater Whitethroat
Spectacled Warbler
Dartford Warbler (toni)
Fulvous Babbler | Fulvous Chatterer
Common Firecrest (balearicus)
Eurasian Wren (kabylorum)
Short-toed Treecreeper (mauritanica)
Spotless Starling
Chestnut-bellied Starling
Mistle Thrush (deichleri)
Common Blackbird | Eurasian Blackbird (mauritanicus)
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
Common Rock Thrush | Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush
Blue Rock Thrush
European Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Atlas Wheatear | Seeböhm’s Wheatear
Desert Wheatear (homochroa)
Western Black-eared Wheatear
Red-rumped Wheatear
Maghreb Wheatear
White-crowned Wheatear
Black Wheatear (riggenbachi)
White-throated Dipper (minor)
Rock Sparrow (barbara)
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
House Sparrow (tingitanus)
Desert Sparrow (saharae)
Sudan Golden Sparrow
African Silverbill
Red-billed Firefinch
Village Indigobird
Alpine Accentor (collaris)
Western Yellow Wagtail (iberiae)
Grey Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
Hawfinch (buvryi)
Trumpeter Finch (zedlitzi)
European Greenfinch (voousi)
White-rumped Seedeater
Common Linnet | Eurasian 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, Bouaafroune Forest 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
Birds of Africa
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)
Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association (AWWA)
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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