SUB-REGION
North Africa
SIZE
266,000 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
A mix of Afrotropical and Palaearctic elements in the avifauna
Approximately 330 recorded species
Birds best found in Western Sahara but occurring more widely (BT)
Golden Nightjar
Dunn’s Lark
Birds best found in two territories of the ABC region but occurring in more (B2)
Cricket Warbler
Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
Moroccan Cormorant
North African Buzzard
Barbary Falcon
Desert Grey Shrike
Saharan Scrub Warbler (B2)
Other taxa of interest
Ruddy Shelduck
Marbled Duck
Barbary Partridge (spatzi)
Common Quail
Egyptian Nightjar
Pallid Swift
Little Swift
Houbara Bustard
Spotted Sandgrouse
Crowned Sandgrouse
Eurasian Collared Dove
African Collared Dove
Laughing Dove (phoenicophila)
Black-necked Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Eurasian Stone-curlew (saharae)
Kentish Plover
Cream-colored Courser
Eurasian Spoonbill
Western Reef Heron
Egyptian Vulture
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Golden Eagle
Little Owl (saharae)
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Lanner Falcon (erlangeri)
Brown-necked Raven
Greater Hoopoe-Lark
Thick-billed Lark
Desert Lark
Bar-tailed Lark
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
Thekla’s Lark
Crested Lark
Maghreb Lark
Temminck’s Lark
Greater Short-toed Lark
Pale Crag Martin
Iberian Chiffchaff
African Desert Warbler
Sardinian Warbler (valverdei)
Spectacled Warbler
Fulvous Babbler
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
Desert Wheatear
Red-rumped Wheatear
Black Wheatear
White-crowned Wheatear
Desert Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
Trumpeter Finch
House Bunting
MAIN HABITATS
Sandy desert, coastal wetlands
BIRD AREAS
5 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Oued Jenna for desert species, and non-breeding migrants including Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Western Olivaceous Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Western Orphean Warbler, Tristram’s Warbler, Western Subalpine Warbler, Atlas Wheatear and Western Black-eared Wheatear
Oued Saquiat al-Hamra at Laâyoune for waterfowl and waders/shorebirds
Dakhla Bay and offshore for more waders/shorebirds including Red Phalarope, larids including Sabine’s Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, West African Crested Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern and Black Tern, and seabirds including Common Scoter, Great Skua, Pomarine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, European Storm Petrel, Leach’s Storm Petrel, Band-rumped Storm Petrel, Cory’s Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Bulwer’s Petrel and Northern Gannet
TIMING (Jan–Mar)
Best after the rains (Jan–Apr)
Avoid the hot dry season (May–Aug)
RESOURCES
Apps
Collins Bird Guide
Field guides
Collins Bird Guide by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney & Dan Zetterström (2022)
Sounds
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
Where to Watch Birds in Morocco by Patrick & Fédora Bergier (2017)
Further reading
Oiseaux du Sahara Atlantique Marocain by Patrick Bergier, Michel Thévenot & Abdeljebbar Qninba (2017)
Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: an Annotated Checklist by Dominic Mitchell (2017)
Morocco by Chris Magin in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Articles in Bull. ABC, Malimbus, etc.
Blogs
Birding for a Lark by Robert Tovey
ORGANISATIONS
There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Western Sahara
Bird or conservation organisations active in Western Sahara include –
Association Nature Initiative (ANI)
Association Anafis