Melanie
Well-known member
Melierax metabates theresae from Southern Morocco has not been observed since 2007 and is now feared to be extinct.
The dark chanting-goshawk is a widespread resident raptor occurring over large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, which had isolated populations of the endemic subspecies M. m. theresae in south-west Morocco. The original breeding range of the species in North Africa included Morocco, restricted to the argan forests of the Souss Valley and adjacent Anti-Atlas foothills (Vernon et al., 2005).
In the middle of the 20th century, breed in the Chiadma, the Haha, the Souss and areas near the Central and Western Anti-Atlas. Disappeared from the Chiadma and the Haha in the late 1950s (Bergier et al., 2022). The total population was estimated at a few dozen pairs in the 1980s (Thévenot et al., 1985), but the last record of nesting individuals was one pair at a nest with young in an abandoned olive grove in 1979 (Heinze and Krott, 1979). The species was never very abundant in North Africa and was already considered rare by Lynes (1925). In more recent years there have been only four sightings in the region of Souss, an immature on 2 April 1999 east of Oulad Berechil, and single adults near Taroudant on 15 April 2000, 31 December 2006 and 25 February 2007 (Bergier et al., 2022). Details of the last documented record can be found here 23 April 2015 - A record of Dark Chanting Goshawk near Taroudant in 2007 - Go-South
It has been actively searched for many times by many experienced ornithologists (Fareh et al., 2016), which indicates that this species has definitely become extinct in Morocco. The species was extirpated due to changes in land use in the Souss region (P. Bergier, pers. obs.).
Sources
- Garrido López, J. R., Numa, C. & Violeta, B. (2021): The conservation status and distribution of the breeding birds of prey of North Africa. Monographic Series:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Regional Assessment.
- Bergier, P., Thévenot, M., Qninba, A. & Houllier, JR. (2022): Birds of Morocco / Oiseaux du Maroc. Societé d'Etudes Ornithologiques de France.
The dark chanting-goshawk is a widespread resident raptor occurring over large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, which had isolated populations of the endemic subspecies M. m. theresae in south-west Morocco. The original breeding range of the species in North Africa included Morocco, restricted to the argan forests of the Souss Valley and adjacent Anti-Atlas foothills (Vernon et al., 2005).
In the middle of the 20th century, breed in the Chiadma, the Haha, the Souss and areas near the Central and Western Anti-Atlas. Disappeared from the Chiadma and the Haha in the late 1950s (Bergier et al., 2022). The total population was estimated at a few dozen pairs in the 1980s (Thévenot et al., 1985), but the last record of nesting individuals was one pair at a nest with young in an abandoned olive grove in 1979 (Heinze and Krott, 1979). The species was never very abundant in North Africa and was already considered rare by Lynes (1925). In more recent years there have been only four sightings in the region of Souss, an immature on 2 April 1999 east of Oulad Berechil, and single adults near Taroudant on 15 April 2000, 31 December 2006 and 25 February 2007 (Bergier et al., 2022). Details of the last documented record can be found here 23 April 2015 - A record of Dark Chanting Goshawk near Taroudant in 2007 - Go-South
It has been actively searched for many times by many experienced ornithologists (Fareh et al., 2016), which indicates that this species has definitely become extinct in Morocco. The species was extirpated due to changes in land use in the Souss region (P. Bergier, pers. obs.).
Sources
- Garrido López, J. R., Numa, C. & Violeta, B. (2021): The conservation status and distribution of the breeding birds of prey of North Africa. Monographic Series:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Regional Assessment.
- Bergier, P., Thévenot, M., Qninba, A. & Houllier, JR. (2022): Birds of Morocco / Oiseaux du Maroc. Societé d'Etudes Ornithologiques de France.
