SUB-REGION
North Africa
SIZE
163,610 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Palaearctic avifauna
Approximately 390 recorded species
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 (africana)
Tunisian Chaffinch (spodiogenys)
Atlas Crossbill | North African Crossbill
Other taxa of interest (see also under Birding Sites)
Common Shelduck
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
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
Common Wood Pigeon
European Turtle Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Laughing Dove (phoenicophila)
Water Rail
Western Swamphen
Common Crane
Great Crested Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Common Buttonquail
Eurasian Stone-curlew | Eurasian Thick-knee (saharae)
Black-winged Stilt
Pied Avocet
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Redshank
Cream-colored Courser
Collared Pratincole
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian Bittern | Great Bittern
Little Bittern (minutus)
Squacco Heron
White Stork
Egyptian Vulture
Griffon Vulture | Eurasian Griffon
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Booted Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Golden Eagle
Bonelli’s Eagle
Levant Sparrowhawk
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (punicus)
Hen Harrier
Pallid Harrier
Montagu’s Harrier
Red Kite
White-tailed Eagle
Little Owl (glaux)
Eurasian Scops Owl (mallorcae)
Long-eared Owl
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Maghreb Owl
Eurasian Hoopoe
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Wryneck (mauretanica)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (ledouci)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (numidus)
Levaillant’s Woodpecker | Maghreb Green Woodpecker
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel | Eurasian Kestrel
Eleonora’s Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Lanner Falcon (erlangeri)
Black-crowned Tchagra (cucullatus)
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Woodchat Shrike
Eurasian Jay (cervicalis)
Maghreb Magpie
Western Jackdaw
Brown-necked Raven
Northern Raven (tingitanus)
Coal Tit (ledouci)
Great Tit (excelsus)
Greater Hoopoe-Lark
Thick-billed Lark
Desert Lark
Bar-tailed Lark
Woodlark (pallida)
Eurasian Skylark (harterti)
Thekla’s Lark
Crested 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
European Red-rumped Swallow
Cetti’s Warbler
Western Bonelli’s Warbler
Iberian Chiffchaff
Great Reed Warbler
Moustached Warbler
Western Olivaceous Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Savi’s Warbler
Zitting Cisticola (cisticola)
Eurasian Blackcap (pauluccii)
Western Orphean Warbler
African Desert Warbler
Tristram’s Warbler (deserticola)
Sardinian Warbler
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
Mistle Thrush (deichleri)
Common Blackbird | Eurasian Blackbird (mauritanicus)
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
Spotted Flycatcher
European Robin (witherbyi)
Common Nightingale
Atlas Pied Flycatcher | Atlas Flycatcher
Moussier’s Redstart
Blue Rock Thrush
European Stonechat
Desert Wheatear (homochroa)
Western Black-eared Wheatear
Red-rumped Wheatear
Maghreb Wheatear
White-crowned Wheatear
Black Wheatear (riggenbachi)
Rock Sparrow (barbara)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
House Sparrow (tingitanus)
Desert Sparrow (saharae)
Western Yellow Wagtail (iberiae)
Grey Wagtail
Hawfinch (buvryi)
Trumpeter Finch (zedlitzi)
European Greenfinch (voousi)
Common Linnet | Eurasian Linnet (mediterranea)
European Goldfinch (parva)
European Serin
Corn Bunting
Rock Bunting
Cirl Bunting
House Bunting
MAIN HABITATS
Desert, wetlands, mountains
BIRD AREAS
46 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Cap Bon Promontory for soaring bird migration, mainly European Honey Buzzard, Western Marsh Harrier (harterti) and Black Kite, also Lesser Spotted Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Common Buzzard among other raptors
Offshore for seabirds including Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Black Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Little Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Slender-billed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Parasitic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, Great Skua, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, European Storm Petrel, Scopoli’s Shearwater, Yelkouan Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Northern Gannet and European Shag (desmarestii)
Ichkeul National Park (NP) for waterbirds including Greylag Goose, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, Eurasian Coot, Greater Flamingo and Black-tailed Godwit
Bou-Hedma NP for montane species
Jbil 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
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
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