What is a Moula-Moula Bird? (1 Viewer)

My parents are travelling around Libya at the moment. I was slightly bewildered to receive a text from them saying that they had seen 'the Moula-Moula Bird'. I googled this and discovered that this is a Touareg name for a bird which some links suggest is the White-crowned Wheatear and others suggest is the Desert Sparrow.

Any idea what it is my parents may have seen? As far as I can make out they saw the birds at Ghadames, which seems to be well into the Sahara, near the point where Libya, Algeria and Tunisia meet.

In Morocco and Algeria, Moula moula is White crowned wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga.

I googled Moula moula and found that it is a Berber name of White crowned wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga. It is used from Morocco and Algeria as Javier said, through to Libya. And the location where your parents have seen the birds is well within the Touareg area. I don't know the name myself because it is not native to my area in the north.

Enjoy some images of Moula-moula: http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=fr&biw=1272&bih=569&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=moula+moula&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Many thanks both of you. It should be quite easy to confirm if this is what they saw when they come back.

Acrocephalus said:

I googled Moula moula and found that it is a Berber name of White crowned wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga. It is used from Morocco and Algeria as Javier said, through to Libya. And the location where your parents have seen the birds is well within the Touareg area. I don't know the name myself because it is not native to my area in the north.

Enjoy some images of Moula-moula: http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=fr&biw=1272&bih=569&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=moula+moula&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Click to expand...

A fine set of photographs.

Allen