الصحراء الغربية | Sáhara Occidental | Western Sahara

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

Desert Sparrow (Paul van Giersbergen)
Crowned Sandgrouse (Paul van Giersbergen)
Dunn’s Lark (Tim Wacher)

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 (see also under Birding Sites)
Ruddy Shelduck
Marbled Duck
Barbary Partridge (spatzi)
Common Quail
Egyptian Nightjar
Pallid Swift
Little Swift
African Houbara
Spotted Sandgrouse
Crowned Sandgrouse
European Turtle Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Laughing Dove (phoenicophila)
Greater Flamingo
Eurasian Stone-curlew (saharae)
Kentish Plover
Cream-colored Courser
Bridled Tern
Slender-billed Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
European Shag
Egyptian Vulture
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Golden Eagle
Bonelli’s Eagle
Black Kite
Little Owl (saharae)
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Lanner Falcon (erlangeri)
Black-crowned Tchagra (cucullatus)
Maghreb Magpie
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
Mediterranean Short-toed Lark
Pale Crag Martin
Western Olivaceous Warbler
African Desert Warbler
Sardinian Warbler (valverdei)
Spectacled Warbler
Fulvous Babbler
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
Moussier’s Redstart
Atlas Wheatear
Desert Wheatear
Red-rumped Wheatear
Maghreb Wheatear
Mourning Wheatear
White-crowned Wheatear
Black Wheatear
Spanish Sparrow
Desert Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
Trumpeter Finch
House Bunting

Spotted Sandgrouse (Nik Borrow)
Fulvous Babbler (Paul van Giersbergen)

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 Orphean Warbler and Tristram’s Warbler
Oued Saquiat al-Hamra at Laâyoune for waterbirds
Dakhla Bay for waders/shorebirds
Offshore for seabirds including Red Phalarope, Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Black Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, West African Crested Tern, Little Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Sabine’s Gull, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Parasitic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, Great Skua, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, European Storm Petrel, Leach’s Storm Petrel, Cory’s Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Northern Gannet, European Shag and Great Cormorant (maroccanus)

TIMING (Jan–Mar)
Best after the rains (Jan–Apr)
Avoid the hot dry season (May–Aug)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa
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

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