SUB-REGION
North-West Africa
SIZE
163,610 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Palaearctic avifauna
Approximately 380 recorded species
Proposed split not yet accepted by IOC
North African Blue Tit
Other taxa of interest
White-headed Duck
Barbary Partridge
Scopoli’s Shearwater
Yelkouan Shearwater
Maghreb Owl
Red-necked Nightjar (desertorum)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (ledouci)
Levaillant’s Woodpecker
Eurasian Jay (cervicalis)
Maghreb Magpie
Brown-necked Raven
Thick-billed Lark
Coal Tit (ledouci)
Great Tit (excelsus)
Common Bulbul (barbatus)
African Desert Warbler
Marmora’s Warbler
Tristram’s Warbler (deserticola)
Short-toed Treecreeper (mauritanica)
Fulvous Babbler
European Robin (witherbyi)
Atlas Pied Flycatcher
Maghreb Wheatear
Desert Sparrow
African Chaffinch (africana + spodiogenys)
MAIN HABITATS
Desert, wetlands, mountains
BIRD AREAS
46 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Lake Sedjoumi for waterfowl
Bou Hedma National Park (NP) for montane species
J’Bil NP for desert species
TIMING (Feb–Apr)
Best after rain and once it warms up (Feb–May)
Raptor passage is best Mar–Apr
Many Afro-Palearctic migrants present Nov–Feb
Avoid the hot, dry season (Jul–Sep)
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
Birding Tunisia – Off the Beaten Track by Mark Cocker (2005)
Tunisia in The Good Bird Guide: a Species-by-Species Guide to Finding Europe’s Best Birds by Keith Marsh (2005)
Further reading
Oiseaux de Tunisie/Birds of Tunisia by Paul Isenmann, Thierry Gaultier, Ali El Hali, Hichem Azafzaf, Habib Dlensi & Michael Smart (2005)
Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: an Annotated Checklist by Dominic Mitchell (2017)
Tunisia by Mourad Amari & Hichem Azafzaf 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: Tunisie 2009-2018 by Hichem Azafzaf, Samar Kilani & Claudia Feltrup- Azafzaf (2021)
Waterbirds in the Gulf of Gabès and other Wetlands in Tunisia, Autumn 1999 by J F F P Bos, G M van der Geest, N L M Gilissen, R Pahlplatz, I Essetti & F Ayache (2001)
Waterbirds in Kneiss, Tunisia, February-March 1994 by T M van der Have, N Baccetti, G O Keijl & M Zenatello (1997)
Waterbirds in the Kneiss Area and other Wetlands, Tunisia, Spring 1990 edited by H W Spiekman, G O Keijl & P S Ruiters (1993)
Wader Ringing in Tunisia 1962-1986 by H Spiekman (1992)
Wintering Waders and Waterfowl in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia, January-March 1984 by A J van Dijk, K van Dijk, L Dijksen, T van Spanje & E Wymenga (1986)
The Birds of Tunisia: an Annotated Checklist and a Field Guide to Birdwatching by Peter Thomsen & Peder Jacobsen (1979)
Articles in Alauda, Bull. ABC, etc.
Websites
Birds in Tunisia – MaghrebOrnitho has everything about birds and birding in Tunisia
Birdwatching Tunisia
Ichkeul National Park – UNESCO World Heritage List
Blogs
Tunisia – North African Birds/Oiseaux d’Afrique du Nord
Facebook groups
Birds of Tunisia – Oiseaux de Tunisie – طيور تونسية
ORGANISATIONS
The BirdLife Partner in Tunisia is Association Les Amis des Oiseaux (AAO)
AAO has a scientific branch called Groupe Tunisien d’Ornithologie (GTO) and regional branches in Bizerte, Cap Bon, Gabes, Gafsa, Kairouan, Sfax and Sousse
Other bird or conservation organisations active in Tunisia include –
Association Nationale du Développement Durable et de la Conservation de la Vie Sauvage (ANDDCVS)
Association Tunisienne pour la Protection de la Nature et de l’Environnement (ATPNE)
Association Tunisienne de Taxonomie (ATUTAX)
Exploralis
Tunisia Wildlife Conservation Society (TWCS)
Tour du Valat