A mystery bird, Casablanca, Morocco
Male House Sparrow?? Casablanca, Morocco
Just as we were leaving our hotel in Casablanca on our visit there last year, I saw this bird in a tree across the road. A quick snap before getting on the bus was all I could achieve, not even time to get out the binoculars. I suspect it is a female House Sparrow; it certainly looks like one. The species is quite common in many parts of Morocco, so I am fairly confident that is what it is.
If any of my readers has more experience of the birds of Morocco than me, or if you disagree with my ID, please leave a comment. I could have enlarged the image digitally, but the result would prove to be too blurry to be helpful.
I will post more about Moroccan birds in the coming days.
Update: March 1st, 2016: one of my readers has confirmed this as a House Sparrow – but a male. On looking again at the photo, I would have to agree.
Hi,
I would say it’s a male House Sparrow. Notice the black bib, it’s not as black as in the breeding plumage but females don’t have black bib at all.
Regards from Morocco,
Mohamed
Hi there, You may well be right. I think I was confused by the early morning shadow on the throat.
[…] a common species throughout Morocco. I recorded it in many places, including the bigger cities like Casablanca through to smaller rural […]