List of birds of Mauritania
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the bird species recorded in Mauritania. The avifauna of Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...

 includes a total of 559 species, of which 1 has been introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 by humans, and 3 are rare or accidental. 6 species are globally threatened.

This list's taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of Clements
James Clements
Dr. James Franklin Clements was an ornithologist, author and very successful businessman. He was born in New York....

's 5th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflects this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Mauritania.

The following tags have been used to highlight certain relevant categories. The commonly occurring, native, species do not fall into any of these categories.
  • (A) Accidental A species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Mauritania.
  • (I) Introduced A species introduced to Mauritania as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions.

Table of contents

Non-passerines:
Ostriches .
Grebes .
Shearwaters and Petrels .
Storm-Petrels .
Tropicbirds .
Pelicans .
Boobies and Gannets .
Cormorants .
Darters .
Frigatebirds .
Bitterns, Herons and Egrets .
Hammerkop .
Storks .
Ibises and Spoonbills .
Flamingos .
Ducks, Geese and Swans .
Osprey .
Hawks, Kites and Eagles .
Secretary-bird .
Caracaras and Falcons .
Pheasants and Partridges .
Guineafowl .
Buttonquails .
Cranes .
Rails, Crakes, Gallinules, and Coots .
Bustards .
Jacanas .
Painted snipe .
Oystercatchers .
Avocets and Stilts .
Thick-knees .
Pratincoles and Coursers .
Plovers and Lapwings .
Sandpipers and allies .
Skuas and Jaegers .
Gulls .
Terns .
Skimmers .
Auks, Murres, and Puffins .
Sandgrouse .
Pigeons and Doves .
Parrots, Macaws and allies .
Turacos .
Cuckoos and Anis .
Barn owls .
Typical owls .
Nightjars .
Swifts .
Mousebirds .
Kingfishers .
Bee-eaters .
Typical Rollers .
Hoopoes .
Woodhoopoes .
Hornbills .
Barbets .
Honeyguides .
Woodpeckers and allies .

Passerines:
Larks .
Swallows and Martins .
Wagtails and Pipits .
Cuckoo-shrikes .
Bulbuls .
Thrushes and allies .
Cisticolas and allies .
Old World warblers .
Old World flycatchers .
Wattle-eyes .
Monarch flycatchers .
Babblers .
Chickadees and Titmice .
Penduline tits .
Sunbirds and Spiderhunters .
White-eyes .
Old World Orioles .
Shrikes .
Bushshrikes and allies .
Helmetshrikes .
Drongos .
Crows, Jays, Ravens and Magpies .
Starlings .
Weavers and allies .
Waxbills and allies .
Indigobirds .
Buntings, Sparrows, Seedeaters and allies .
Siskins, Crossbills and allies .
Sparrows .

See also       References

Ostriches

Order: Struthioniformes. Family: Struthionidae

The Ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.
  • Ostrich
    Ostrich
    The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

     Struthio camelus

Grebes

Order: Podicipediformes. Family: Podicipedidae

Grebe
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. There are 20 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Little Grebe
    Little Grebe
    The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...

     Tachybaptus ruficollis

Shearwaters and petrels

Order: Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Procellariidae
Procellariidae
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...



The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized 'true petrels', characterised by united nostrils with a medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. There are 75 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Soft-plumaged Petrel
    Soft-plumaged Petrel
    The Soft-plumaged Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.-Distribution:It breeds on islands in the Southern Hemisphere, nesting on Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Macquarie Island, and on the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand. Small...

     Pterodroma mollis
  • Fea's Petrel
    Fea's Petrel
    Fea's Petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Soft-plumaged Petrel, P. mollis, but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's Petrel and Deserta's Petrel, two...

     Pterodroma feae
  • Madeira Petrel Pterodroma madeira
  • Bulwer's Petrel
    Bulwer's Petrel
    The Bulwer's Petrel is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae, and is one of two species in the genus Bulweria . This bird is named after the Scottish naturalist James Bulwer.- Description :...

     Bulweria bulwerii
  • Cory's Shearwater
    Cory's Shearwater
    The Cory's Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.This species breeds on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. The nest is on open ground or among rocks or less often in a burrow where one white egg is laid,...

     Calonectris diomedea
  • Greater Shearwater Puffinus gravis
  • Sooty Shearwater
    Sooty Shearwater
    The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...

     Puffinus griseus
  • Manx Shearwater
    Manx Shearwater
    The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...

     Puffinus puffinus
  • Balearic Shearwater
    Balearic Shearwater
    The Balearic Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was long regarded a subspecies of the Manx Shearwater; see there for more on the Puffinus puffinus superspecies; following an initial split it was held to be a subspecies of the "Mediterranean Shearwater"...

     Puffinus mauretanicus
  • Little Shearwater
    Little Shearwater
    The Little Shearwater is a small shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data indicates that the former North Atlantic Little Shearwater group is closer to Audubon's Shearwater , and myrtae being closer to the Newell's and possibly Townsend's Shearwater...

     Puffinus assimilis

Storm-Petrels

Order: Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Hydrobatidae

The storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...

s are relatives of the petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...

s, and are the smallest of sea-birds. They feed on plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...

ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

-like. There are 21 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Wilson's Storm-Petrel
    Wilson's Storm-petrel
    Wilson's Storm Petrel , also known as Wilson's Petrel, is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern...

     Oceanites oceanicus
  • White-faced Storm-Petrel
    White-faced Storm-petrel
    The White-faced Storm Petrel , also known as White-faced Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma....

     Pelagodroma marina
  • European Storm-Petrel
    European Storm-petrel
    The European Storm Petrel or Storm Petrel is a small bird of the storm-petrel family, Hydrobatidae, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. It is the only member of the genus Hydrobates.-Description:...

     Hydrobates pelagicus
  • Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro
  • Leach's Storm-Petrel
    Leach's Storm-petrel
    The Leach's Storm Petrel or Leach's Petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose family. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach....

     Oceanodroma leucorhoa

Tropicbirds

Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Phaethontidae

Tropicbird
Tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...

s are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings. There are 3 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Red-billed Tropicbird
    Red-billed Tropicbird
    The Red-billed Tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus, also known as the Boatswain Bird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related seabirds of tropical oceans.-Distribution and habitat:...

     Phaethon aethereus

Pelicans

Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Pelecanidae

Pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....

s are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes. There are 8 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus
  • Pink-backed Pelican
    Pink-backed Pelican
    The Pink-backed Pelican is a member of the pelican family of birds. It is a resident breeder in Africa, southern Arabia and apparently extinct in Madagascar in swamps and shallow lakes.-Description:...

     Pelecanus rufescens

Boobies and gannets

Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Sulidae
Sulidae
The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...



The sulids comprise the gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

s and boobies
Booby
A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...

. Both groups comprise medium-to-large coastal sea-birds that plunge-dive for fish. There are 9 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Northern Gannet
    Northern Gannet
    The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...

     Morus bassanus
  • Brown Booby
    Brown Booby
    The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...

     Sula leucogaster

Cormorants

Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Phalacrocoracidae

The Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium-to-large coastal, fish-eating sea-birds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black and white, and a few being colourful. There are 38 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Great Cormorant
    Great Cormorant
    The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...

     Phalacrocorax carbo
  • Long-tailed Cormorant
    Long-tailed Cormorant
    The Reed Cormorant , also known as the Long-tailed Cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.This is a common and widespread species, and is not considered to...

     Phalacrocorax africanus

Darters

Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Anhingidae

Darters are frequently referred to as "snake-birds" because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged.
The males have black and dark brown plumage, an erectile crest on the nape and a larger bill than the female. The females have a much paler plumage especially on the neck and underparts. The darters have completely webbed feet, and their legs are short and set far back on the body. Their plumage is somewhat permeable, like that of cormorants, and they spread their wings to dry after diving. There are 4 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Darter
    Darter
    The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term "snakebird" is usually used without any additions to...

     Anhinga melanogaster

Frigatebirds

Order: Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebird
Frigatebird
The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...

s are large sea-birds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply-forked tails. The males have inflatable coloured throat pouches. They do not swim or walk, and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. There are 5 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Magnificent Frigatebird
    Magnificent Frigatebird
    The Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....

     Fregata magnificens

Bitterns, herons and egrets

Order: Ciconiiformes
Ciconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bittern
Bittern
Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...

s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s and egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...

s. Herons and egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Unlike other long-necked birds suck as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. There are 61 species worldwide and 17 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Gray Heron Ardea cinerea
  • Black-headed Heron
    Black-headed Heron
    The Black-headed Heron is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident but some west African birds move further north in the rainy season....

     Ardea melanocephala
  • Goliath Heron
    Goliath Heron
    The Goliath Heron is a very large wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller numbers in Southwest and South Asia.-Description:This is the world's largest heron...

     Ardea goliath
  • Purple Heron
    Purple Heron
    The Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...

     Ardea purpurea
  • Great Egret
    Great Egret
    The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...

     Ardea alba
  • Black Heron
    Black Heron
    The Black Heron also known as the Black Egret, is an African heron. It is a medium-sized , black-plumaged heron with yellow legs and feet. It is found south of the Sahara Desert, including Madagascar, and prefers shallow open waters, such as the edges of freshwater lakes and ponds...

     Egretta ardesiaca
  • Intermediate Egret
    Intermediate Egret
    The Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...

     Egretta intermedia
  • Western Reef-Heron Egretta gularis
  • Little Egret
    Little Egret
    The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....

     Egretta garzetta
  • Squacco Heron
    Squacco Heron
    The Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East.-Behaviour:...

     Ardeola ralloides
  • Cattle Egret
    Cattle Egret
    The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...

     Bubulcus ibis
  • Striated Heron
    Striated Heron
    The Striated Heron, Butorides striata, also known as Mangrove Heron, Little Heron or Green-backed Heron, is a small heron. Striated Herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to...

     Butorides striata
  • Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
  • White-backed Night-Heron
    White-backed Night-heron
    The White-backed Night Heron is a species of heron in the Ardeidae family. This relatively small and dark night heron is found throughout a large part of sub-Saharan Africa. It was formerly placed in the genus Nycticorax....

     Gorsachius leuconotus
  • White-crested Bittern
    White-crested Bittern
    The White-crested Tiger Heron , also known as the White-crested Bittern, is a species of heron in the Ardeidae family. It is in the monotypic genus Tigriornis...

     Tigriornis leucolophus
  • Dwarf Bittern
    Dwarf Bittern
    The Dwarf Bittern is a species of heron in the Ardeidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,...

     Ixobrychus sturmii
  • Great Bittern
    Great Bittern
    The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.-Etymology:...

     Botaurus stellaris

Hammerkop

Order: Ciconiiformes
Ciconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Scopidae

The Hammerkop is a medium-sized bird with a long shaggy crest. The shape of its head with a curved bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, hence its name. Its plumage is a drab brown all over.
  • Hamerkop Scopus umbretta

Storks

Order: Ciconiiformes
Ciconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute; bill-clattering is an important mode of stork communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory. There are 19 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Yellow-billed Stork
    Yellow-billed Stork
    The Yellow-billed Stork, Mycteria ibis, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It occurs in Africa south of the Sahara and in Madagascar....

     Mycteria ibis
  • African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus
  • Black Stork
    Black Stork
    The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...

     Ciconia nigra
  • Abdim's Stork
    Abdim's Stork
    The Abdim's Stork, also known as White-bellied Stork, is a black stork with grey legs, red knees and feet, grey bill and white underparts. It has red facial skin in front of eye and blue skin near the bill in breeding season...

     Ciconia abdimii
  • Woolly-necked Stork
    Woolly-necked Stork
    The Woolly-necked Stork or White necked stork , Ciconia episcopus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It can also be known as the Espiscopos....

     Ciconia episcopus
  • White Stork
    White Stork
    The White Stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to end of tail, with a wingspan...

     Ciconia ciconia
  • Saddle-billed Stork
    Saddle-billed Stork
    The Saddle-billed Stork is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa.This is a close...

     Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
  • Marabou Stork
    Marabou Stork
    The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips...

     Leptoptilos crumeniferus

Ibises and spoonbills

Order: Ciconiiformes
Ciconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Threskiornithidae
Threskiornithidae
The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...



The Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....

es and spoonbill
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...

s. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers. There are 36 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Sacred Ibis
    Sacred Ibis
    The African Sacred Ibis is a species of ibis.-Description:An adult individual is 68 cm long with all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. The bald head and neck, thick curved bill and legs are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight...

     Threskiornis aethiopicus
  • Waldrapp Geronticus eremita
  • Hadada Ibis
    Hadada Ibis
    The Hadada or Hadeda Ibis, Bostrychia hagedash, is an ibis found in Sub-Saharan Africa.-Appearance:The Hadeda is a large , dark brown ibis with a white "moustache", glossy greenish purple wings, a large black bill with a red stripe on the upper mandible, and blackish legs.-Call:It has a...

     Bostrychia hagedash
  • Glossy Ibis
    Glossy Ibis
    The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...

     Plegadis falcinellus
  • Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
  • African Spoonbill
    African Spoonbill
    The African Spoonbill is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and...

     Platalea alba

Flamingos

Order: Phoenicopteriformes. Family: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...

s are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet high, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. They are more numerous in the latter. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume, and are uniquely used upside-down. There are 6 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Greater Flamingo
    Greater Flamingo
    The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...

     Phoenicopterus roseus
  • Lesser Flamingo
    Lesser Flamingo
    The Lesser Flamingo is a species in the flamingo family of birds that resides in Africa and in southern Asia...

     Phoenicopterus minor

Ducks, geese and swans

Order: Anseriformes
Anseriformes
The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...

. Family: Anatidae
Anatidae
Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...



The family Anatidae includes the duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

s and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

 and swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...

s. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. There are 131 species worldwide and 21 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
  • White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata
  • White-backed Duck
    White-backed Duck
    The White-backed Duck is a waterbird of the family Anatidae. It is distinct from all other ducks, but most closely related to the whistling ducks in the subfamily Dendrocygninae, though also showing some similarities to the stiff-tailed ducks in the subfamily Oxyurinae...

     Thalassornis leuconotus
  • Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
  • Brant
    Brent Goose
    The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...

     Branta bernicla
  • Egyptian Goose
    Egyptian Goose
    The Egyptian Goose is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae, and is the only extant member of the genus Alopochen...

     Alopochen aegyptiacus
  • Ruddy Shelduck
    Ruddy Shelduck
    The Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae...

     Tadorna ferruginea
  • Common Shelduck
    Common Shelduck
    The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...

     Tadorna tadorna
  • Spur-winged Goose
    Spur-winged Goose
    The Spur-winged Goose is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae...

     Plectropterus gambensis
  • Comb Duck
    Comb Duck
    The Knob-billed Duck , or Comb Duck, is an unusual, pan-tropical duck, found in tropical wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and south Asia from Pakistan to Laos and extreme southern China...

     Sarkidiornis melanotos
  • African Pygmy-goose Nettapus auritus
  • Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
  • Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
  • Mallard
    Mallard
    The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....

     Anas platyrhynchos
  • Northern Pintail
    Northern Pintail
    The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...

     Anas acuta
  • Garganey
    Garganey
    The Garganey is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India Santragachi and Australasia in winter, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Linnaeus in 1758...

     Anas querquedula
  • Northern Shoveler
    Northern Shoveler
    The Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...

     Anas clypeata
  • Common Pochard Aythya ferina
  • Ferruginous Pochard Aythya nyroca
  • Tufted Duck
    Tufted Duck
    The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...

     Aythya fuligula
  • Black Scoter
    Black Scoter
    The Black or American Scoter is a large sea duck, 43 to 49 centimeters in length. Together with the Common Scoter M. nigra, it forms the subgenus Oidemia; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, the Black Scoter then being referred to as M. nigra americana...

     Melanitta nigra

Osprey

Order: Falconiformes
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Pandionidae

The Pandionidae family contains only one species, the Osprey. The Osprey is a medium large raptor
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.
  • Osprey
    Osprey
    The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

     Pandion haliaetus

Hawks, kites and eagles

Order: Falconiformes
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Accipitridae
Accipitridae
The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...



Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

s, eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s, kites
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....

, harriers
Harrier (bird)
A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds....

 and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. There are 233 species worldwide and 39 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus
  • Black-shouldered Kite
    Black-shouldered Kite
    The Black-shouldered Kite or Australian Black-shouldered Kite is a small raptor found in open habitat throughout Australia and resembles similar species found in Eurasia and North America, which have in the past also been named as Black-shouldered Kites...

     Elanus caeruleus
  • Scissor-tailed Kite Chelictinia riocourii
  • Red Kite
    Red Kite
    The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...

     Milvus milvus
  • Black Kite
    Black Kite
    The Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their...

     Milvus migrans
  • African Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer
  • Hooded Vulture
    Hooded Vulture
    The Hooded Vulture is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Necrosyrtes....

     Necrosyrtes monachus
  • Lammergeier
    Lammergeier
    The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...

     Gypaetus barbatus
  • Egyptian Vulture
    Egyptian Vulture
    The Egyptian Vulture is a small Old World vulture, found widely distributed from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to southern Asia. It is the only living member of the genus Neophron. It has sometimes also been known as the White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken...

     Neophron percnopterus
  • White-backed Vulture
    White-backed Vulture
    The White-backed Vulture is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is closely related to the European Griffon Vulture, G. fulvus...

     Gyps africanus
  • Rueppell's Griffon Gyps rueppellii
  • Eurasian Griffon Gyps fulvus
  • Lappet-faced Vulture
    Lappet-faced Vulture
    The Lappet-faced Vulture or Nubian Vulture is a mostly African Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Torgos. A distinct subspecies T. t. negevensis occurs in the Sinai, the Negev...

     Torgos tracheliotus
  • White-headed Vulture
    White-headed Vulture
    The White-headed Vulture is an Old World vulture endemic to Africa. It has a pink beak and a white crest, and the featherless areas on its head are pale. Its has dark brown upper parts and black tail feathers. The feathers on its lower parts and legs are white. It has a wing span of 2 m and spends...

     Trigonoceps occipitalis
  • Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle
    Beaudouin's Snake-eagle
    Beaudouin's Snake Eagle is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.-References:*...

     Circaetus beaudouini
  • Brown Snake-Eagle
    Brown Snake-eagle
    The Brown Snake Eagle is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa....

     Circaetus cinereus
  • Bateleur
    Bateleur
    The Bateleur is a medium-sized eagle in the bird family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as buzzards, kites and harriers...

     Terathopius ecaudatus
  • Western Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus
  • Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
  • Pallid Harrier
    Pallid Harrier
    The Pale or Pallid Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia...

     Circus macrourus
  • Montagu's Harrier
    Montagu's Harrier
    The Montagu's Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu.-Plumage:...

     Circus pygargus
  • African Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides typus
  • Dark Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates
  • Gabar Goshawk
    Gabar Goshawk
    The Gabar Goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,...

     Micronisus gabar
  • Shikra
    Shikra
    The Shikra is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the Little Banded Goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usually been considered as subspecies of the Shikra...

     Accipiter badius
  • Red-thighed Sparrowhawk
    Red-thighed Sparrowhawk
    The Red-thighed Sparrowhawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria,...

     Accipiter erythropus
  • Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
  • Grasshopper Buzzard
    Grasshopper Buzzard
    The Grasshopper Buzzard is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali,...

     Butastur rufipennis
  • Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo
  • Long-legged Buzzard
    Long-legged Buzzard
    The Long-legged Buzzard is a bird of prey.-Description:It is similar in appearance to the Rough-legged Buzzard , but larger and more robust. There are many different colour forms, but usually Long-leggeds have a clear orange tint to the plumage, red or orange tail, pale head and largely white...

     Buteo rufinus
  • Red-necked Buzzard
    Red-necked Buzzard
    The Red-necked Buzzard is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,...

     Buteo auguralis
  • Tawny Eagle
    Tawny Eagle
    The Tawny Eagle is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. It was once considered to be closely related to the migratory Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis, and the two forms have previously been treated as conspecific...

     Aquila rapax
  • Wahlberg's Eagle
    Wahlberg's Eagle
    The Wahlberg's Eagle is a bird of prey. It is about 55–60 cm in length and has a wingspan of 130–160 cm. Body mass is 1.04 kg for males and 1.3 kg for females on average. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.Wahlberg's Eagle breeds in most of Africa south of...

     Aquila wahlbergi
  • Golden Eagle
    Golden Eagle
    The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

     Aquila chrysaetos
  • Bonelli's Eagle
    Bonelli's Eagle
    The Bonelli's Eagle is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.It breeds in southern Europe, Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across southern Asia to Indonesia...

     Aquila fasciatus
  • African Hawk-Eagle Aquila spilogaster
  • Booted Eagle
    Booted Eagle
    The Booted Eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey. It is about in length and has a wingspan of . Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae....

     Aquila pennatus
  • Martial Eagle
    Martial Eagle
    The Martial Eagle , is a very large eagle found in open and semi-open habitats of sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Polemaetus.-Description:...

     Polemaetus bellicosus
  • Long-crested Eagle
    Long-crested Eagle
    The Long-crested Eagle is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. It is currently placed in a monotypic genus Lophaetus....

     Lophaetus occipitalis

Secretary-bird

Order: Falconiformes
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Sagittariidae

The Secretary-bird is a bird of prey in the order Falconiformes
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

 but is easily distinguished from other raptors by it long crane-like legs.
  • Secretary-bird Sagittarius serpentarius

Caracaras and falcons

Order: Falconiformes
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Falconidae
Falconidae
The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...



Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their feet. There are 62 species worldwide and 12 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Lesser Kestrel
    Lesser Kestrel
    The Lesser Kestrel is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across southern central Asia to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European...

     Falco naumanni
  • Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
  • Fox Kestrel
    Fox Kestrel
    The Fox Kestrel is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is found in arid, open country in Africa.-Description:...

     Falco alopex
  • Gray Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus
  • Red-necked Falcon
    Red-necked Falcon
    The Red-necked Falcon or Red-headed Merlin is a bird of prey in the falcon family. This bird is a widespread resident in India and adjacent regions as well as sub-Saharan Africa. It is sometimes called Turumti locally....

     Falco chicquera
  • Red-footed Falcon
    Red-footed Falcon
    The Red-footed Falcon , formerly Western Red-footed Falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting. It is migratory, wintering in Africa...

     Falco vespertinus
  • Eleonora's Falcon
    Eleonora's Falcon
    Eleonora's Falcon is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. The Sooty Falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same lineage, they do not seem...

     Falco eleonorae
  • Eurasian Hobby
    Eurasian Hobby
    The Eurasian Hobby , or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.-Description:...

     Falco subbuteo
  • African Hobby
    African Hobby
    The African Hobby is a species of bird of prey in the Falconidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,...

     Falco cuvierii
  • Lanner Falcon
    Lanner Falcon
    The Lanner Falcon is a large bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season.-Description:...

     Falco biarmicus
  • Barbary Falcon
    Barbary Falcon
    The Barbary Falcon is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a crow. This bird of prey breeds in the Canary Islands and on the coasts of north Africa. It is mainly resident.-Description:...

     Falco pelegrinoides
  • Peregrine Falcon
    Peregrine Falcon
    The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

     Falco peregrinus

Pheasants and partridges

Order: Galliformes
Galliformes
Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...

. Family: Phasianidae
Phasianidae
The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...



The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...

s, partridge
Partridge
Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...

s, snowcock
Snowcock
The snowcocks are a group of bird species in the genus Tetraogallus of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are ground-nesting birds which breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia from the Caucasus to the Himalayas and western China. The Himalayan Snowcock has been introduced...

s, francolin
Francolin
Francolins are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera , although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae...

s, spurfowls, tragopan
Tragopan
Tragopan is a genus of bird in the family Phasianidae. These birds are commonly called "horny pheasants" because of two brightly-colored, fleshy horns on their heads that they can erect during courtship displays...

s, monal
Monal
A Monal is a bird of genus Lophophorus of the Pheasant family, Phasianidae. There are three species and several sub-species within the genus Lophophorus:* Himalayan Monal Lophophorus impejanus* Sclater's Monal Lophophorus sclateri...

s, pheasant
Pheasant
Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...

s, peafowl
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...

s and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they may vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings. There are 156 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Barbary Partridge
    Barbary Partridge
    The Barbary Partridge , is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds....

     Alectoris barbara
  • Coqui Francolin
    Coqui Francolin
    The Coqui Francolin is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania,...

     Francolinus coqui
  • Double-spurred Francolin
    Double-spurred Francolin
    The Double-spurred Francolin, Pternistis bicalcaratus, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds....

     Francolinus bicalcaratus
  • Clapperton's Francolin
    Clapperton's Francolin
    The Clapperton's Francolin is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda.-References:...

     Francolinus clappertoni
  • Stone Partridge
    Stone Partridge
    The Stone Partridge, Ptilopachus petrosus, is a bird of the pheasant family. This largely brown bird, which commonly holds its tail raised, is found in scrubland and lightly wooded habitats, often near rocks, from Kenya and Ethiopia to Gambia...

     Ptilopachus petrosus

Guineafowl

Order: Galliformes
Galliformes
Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...

. Family: Numididae

Guineafowl are a group of African, seed-eating, ground-nesting birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage. There are 6 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Helmeted Guineafowl
    Helmeted Guineafowl
    The Helmeted Guineafowl is the best known of the guineafowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida...

     Numida meleagris

Buttonquails

Order: Gruiformes
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Turnicidae

The buttonquails are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. The female is the brighter of the sexes, and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young. There are 16 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Small Buttonquail
    Small Buttonquail
    The Kurrichane Buttonquail, Small Buttonquail, Common Buttonquail, or Andalusian Hemipode, Turnix sylvaticus, is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails...

     Turnix sylvatica
  • Quail-plover Ortyxelos meiffrenii

Cranes

Order: Gruiformes
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances". There are 15 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Black Crowned-Crane Balearica pavonina
  • Common Crane
    Common Crane
    The Common Crane , also known as the Eurasian Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes.It is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane at 100–130 cm long, with a 180–240 cm wingspan and a weight of 4.5–6 kg...

     Grus grus

Rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots

Order: Gruiformes
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Rallidae
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...



Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...

s, and gallinule
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

s. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are 143 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • African Crake
    African Crake
    The African Crake is a bird in the rail family that breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa away from the arid south and southwest. It is seasonally common in most of its range other than the rainforests and areas that have low annual rainfall...

     Crecopsis egregia
  • Corn Crake
    Corn Crake
    The Corn Crake, Corncrake or Landrail is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the winter...

     Crex crex
  • Black Crake
    Black Crake
    The Black Crake, Amaurornis flavirostra, is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae. It breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in very arid areas. It undertakes some seasonal movements in those parts of its range which are subject to drought...

     Amaurornis flavirostris
  • Little Crake
    Little Crake
    The Little Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.Their breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in reed vegetation, laying 4-7 eggs...

     Porzana parva
  • Baillon's Crake
    Baillon's Crake
    The Baillon's Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.-Distribution:Their breeding habitat is sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across Asia. They used to breed in Great Britain up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage....

     Porzana pusilla
  • Spotted Crake
    Spotted Crake
    The Spotted Crake is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Their breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in marsh vegetation, laying 6-15 eggs...

     Porzana porzana
  • Allen's Gallinule
    Allen's Gallinule
    The Allen's Gallinule , formerly known as the Lesser Gallinule is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. Its former binomial name is Porphyrula alleni....

     Porphyrio alleni
  • Common Moorhen
    Common Moorhen
    The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...

     Gallinula chloropus
  • Eurasian Coot
    Eurasian Coot
    The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...

     Fulica atra

Bustards

Order: Gruiformes
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Otididae

Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

. They are omnivorous and nest on the ground. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays. There are 26 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Arabian Bustard
    Arabian Bustard
    The Arabian Bustard is a species of bird in the bustard family. It is part of the largest-bodied genus and, though little known, appears to be a fairly typical species in that group. As in all bustards, the male Arabian bustard is much larger than the female. Males have been found to weigh ,...

     
  • Houbara Bustard
    Houbara Bustard
    The Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis undulata, is a large bird in the bustard family.-Description:The Houbara Bustard is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures in length and spans across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the...

     Chlamydotis undulata
  • Stanley Bustard
    Stanley Bustard
    Denham's Bustard, Stanley Bustard or Stanley's Bustard, Neotis denhami, is a large bird in the bustard family. It breeds in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of open ground, including agricultural land, grassland, flood-plains and burnt fynbos...

     Neotis denhami
  • Nubian Bustard
    Nubian Bustard
    The Nubian Bustard is a species of bird in the bustard family. This is a medium-large bustard found in the sparsely vegetated interface between the southern margins of the Sahara desert and the northern part of the Sahel...

     Neotis nuba
  • White-bellied Bustard
    White-bellied Bustard
    The White-bellied Bustard or White-bellied Korhaan is an African species of bustard.-Range and habitat:...

     Eupodotis senegalensis
  • Savile's Bustard
    Savile's Bustard
    The Savile's Bustard is a species of bird in the Otididae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.-References:...

     Eupodotis savilei
  • Black-bellied Bustard
    Black-bellied Bustard
    The Black-bellied Bustard is an African ground-dwelling bird in the bustard family. Some authorities place it in the genus Eupodotis.-Description:...

     Lissotis melanogaster

Jacanas

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Jacanidae

The jacana
Jacana
The jaçanas are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. See Etymology below for pronunciation....

s are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide in the Tropics. They are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. There 8 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Lesser Jacana
    Lesser Jacana
    The Lesser Jacana is a species of bird in the Jacanidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Microparra....

     Microparra capensis
  • African Jacana
    African Jacana
    The African Jacana is a jacana. The jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. They are found worldwide within the tropical...

     Actophilornis africanus

Painted snipe

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Rostratulidae

Painted snipe are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the true snipes, but more brightly coloured. There are 2 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Greater Painted-snipe Rostratula benghalensis

Oystercatchers

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Haematopodidae

The oystercatcher
Oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...

s are large and noisy plover
Plover
Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs. There are 11 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Eurasian Oystercatcher
    Eurasian Oystercatcher
    The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...

     Haematopus ostralegus

Avocets and stilts

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets and the stilts .-Description and diet:...



Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocet
Avocet
The four species of Avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts.Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer...

s and the stilt
Stilt
Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates....

s. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. There are 9 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Black-winged Stilt
    Black-winged Stilt
    The Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family . Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize...

     Himantopus himantopus
  • Pied Avocet
    Pied Avocet
    The Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta, is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia...

     Recurvirostra avosetta

Thick-knees

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Burhinidae

The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. There are 9 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus
  • Senegal Thick-knee
    Senegal Thick-knee
    The Senegal Thick-knee, Burhinus senegalensis, is a Stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae.It is a resident breeder in Africa between the Sahara and the equator, and in the Nile valley....

     Burhinus senegalensis
  • Spotted Thick-knee
    Spotted Thick-knee
    The Spotted Thick-knee, Burhinus capensis, also known as the Spotted Dikkop or Cape Thick-knee, is a stone-curlew in the family Burhinidae.- Description :...

     Burhinus capensis

Pratincoles and coursers

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Glareolidae
Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family...



Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincole
Pratincole
The Pratincoles or Greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers and Egyptian Plover make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails....

s, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the courser
Courser
The Coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards...

s, which have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. There are 17 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Egyptian Plover
    Egyptian Plover
    The Egyptian Plover is a wader, the only member of the genus Pluvianus. Formerly placed in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae, it is now regarded as the sole member of its own monotypic family Pluvianidae....

     Pluvianus aegyptius
  • Cream-colored Courser Cursorius cursor
  • Temminck's Courser
    Temminck's Courser
    Temminck's Courser, Cursorius temminckii, is a bird in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. It is a wader which lives in sub-Saharan Africa....

     Cursorius temminckii
  • Bronze-winged Courser
    Bronze-winged Courser
    The Bronze-winged Courser or Violet-tipped Courser is a species of bird in the Glareolidae family. It is found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.-References:...

     Rhinoptilus chalcopterus
  • Collared Pratincole
    Collared Pratincole
    The Collared Pratincole or Common Pratincole, Glareola pratincola, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.Pratincoles are unusual among waders in that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.The Collared Pratincole is a...

     Glareola pratincola
  • Black-winged Pratincole
    Black-winged Pratincole
    The Black-winged Pratincole, Glareola nordmanni, is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae.Their most unusual feature of the pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the...

     Glareola nordmanni
  • Rock Pratincole
    Rock Pratincole
    The Rock Pratincole is a species of bird in the Glareolidae family.-Distribution and habitat:It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea,...

     Glareola nuchalis

Plovers and lapwings

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Charadriidae
Charadriidae
The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...



The family Charadriidae includes the plover
Plover
Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

s, dotterels, and lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...

s. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions. There are 66 species worldwide and 16 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Northern Lapwing
    Northern Lapwing
    The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....

     Vanellus vanellus
  • Spur-winged Plover
    Spur-winged Plover
    The Spur-winged Lapwing or Spur-winged Plover is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae....

     Vanellus spinosus
  • Black-headed Lapwing
    Black-headed Lapwing
    The Black-headed Plover or Black-headed Lapwing is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasonal movements. It lays two or three eggs on a ground scrape.These are...

     Vanellus tectus
  • White-headed Lapwing Vanellus albiceps
  • Senegal Lapwing
    Senegal Lapwing
    The Senegal Lapwing or Lesser Black-winged Lapwing is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria,...

     Vanellus lugubris
  • Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus
  • Brown-chested Lapwing
    Brown-chested Lapwing
    The Brown-chested Lapwing is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family.It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.It is a carnivorous bird...

     Vanellus superciliosus
  • European Golden-Plover Pluvialis apricaria
  • Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
  • Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
  • Little Ringed Plover
    Little Ringed Plover
    The Little Ringed Plover is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill...

     Charadrius dubius
  • Kittlitz's Plover
    Kittlitz's Plover
    The Kittlitz’s Plover is a small plover found in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and the Nile delta. Some birds, especially in coastal areas, are resident, other populations are migratory or nomadic.-Description:...

     Charadrius pecuarius
  • White-fronted Plover
    White-fronted Plover
    The White-fronted Plover or White-fronted Sandplover, Charadrius marginatus, is a small wader. This plover is resident in much of Africa south of the Sahara on rocky, sandy or muddy coasts and large inland rivers and lakes....

     Charadrius marginatus
  • Snowy Plover
    Snowy Plover
    The Snowy Plover is a small wader in the plover bird family. It breeds in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern and western USA and the Caribbean...

     Charadrius alexandrinus
  • Caspian Plover
    Caspian Plover
    The Caspian Plover is a wader in the plover family of birds.It breeds on open grassland in central Asia, mainly to the north and east of the Caspian Sea. This bird breeds in loose colonies, with three eggs being laid in a ground nest. These birds migrate south in winter to east Africa, usually...

     Charadrius asiaticus
  • Eurasian Dotterel
    Eurasian Dotterel
    The Eurasian Dotterel , or in Europe just Dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds.It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern Eurasia, from Norway to eastern Siberia, and on suitable mountain plateaus such as the Scottish highlands and the Alps...

     Charadrius morinellus

Sandpipers and allies

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae
The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...



The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...

s, godwit
Godwit
The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter....

s, shanks
Tringa
Tringa is a genus of waders, containing the shanks and tattlers. They are mainly freshwater birds, often with brightly coloured legs as reflected in the English names of six species, as well as the specific names of two of these and the Green Sandpiper. They are typically associated with northern...

, tattler
Tattler (bird)
The tattlers are the two very similar bird species in the shorebird genus Tringa. They formerly had their own genus, Heteroscelus. The old genus name means "different leg" in Greek, referring to the leg scales that differentiate the tattlers from their close relatives, the shanks.The species are:*...

s, woodcock
Woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...

s, snipe
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...

s, dowitcher
Dowitcher
The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds. They resemble godwits in body and bill shape, and the reddish underparts in summer, but are much shorter legged, more like snipe to which they are also somewhat closer related...

s and phalarope
Phalarope
A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...

s. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. There are 89 species worldwide and 31 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Jack Snipe
    Jack Snipe
    The Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus Lymnocryptes...

     Lymnocryptes minimus
  • Great Snipe
    Great Snipe
    The Great Snipe, Gallinago media is a small stocky wader in the genus Gallinago.This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north-eastern Europe including north-western Russia. Great Snipes are migratory, wintering in Africa...

     Gallinago media
  • Common Snipe
    Common Snipe
    The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...

     Gallinago gallinago
  • Black-tailed Godwit
    Black-tailed Godwit
    The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...

     Limosa limosa
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
    Bar-tailed Godwit
    The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...

     Limosa lapponica
  • Whimbrel
    Whimbrel
    The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....

     Numenius phaeopus
  • Eurasian Curlew
    Eurasian Curlew
    The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...

     Numenius arquata
  • Upland Sandpiper
    Upland Sandpiper
    The Upland Sandpiper is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews . Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram...

     Bartramia longicauda (A)
  • Spotted Redshank
    Spotted Redshank
    The Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It breeds across northern Scandinavia and northern Asia and migrates south to the Mediterranean, the southern British Isles, France, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia for the winter...

     Tringa erythropus
  • Common Redshank
    Common Redshank
    The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...

     Tringa totanus
  • Marsh Sandpiper
    Marsh Sandpiper
    The Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis, is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia....

     Tringa stagnatilis
  • Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
  • Green Sandpiper
    Green Sandpiper
    The Green Sandpiper is a small wader of the Old World. It represents an ancient lineage of the genus Tringa; its only close living relative is the Solitary Sandpiper . They both have brown wings with little light dots and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern...

     Tringa ochropus
  • Wood Sandpiper
    Wood Sandpiper
    The Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...

     Tringa glareola
  • Terek Sandpiper
    Terek Sandpiper
    The Terek Sandpiper is a small migratory Palearctic wader species, the only member of the genus Xenus.- Description and systematics :...

     Xenus cinereus
  • Common Sandpiper
    Common Sandpiper
    The Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...

     Actitis hypoleucos
  • Ruddy Turnstone
    Ruddy Turnstone
    The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...

     Arenaria interpres
  • Red Knot
    Red Knot
    The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...

     Calidris canutus
  • Sanderling
    Sanderling
    The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...

     Calidris alba
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper
    Semipalmated Sandpiper
    The Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla, is a very small shorebird. It is sometimes separated with other "stints" in Erolia but although these apparently form a monophyletic group, the present species' old genus Ereunetes had been proposed before Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short stout...

     Calidris pusilla (A)
  • Little Stint
    Little Stint
    The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...

     Calidris minuta
  • Temminck's Stint
    Temminck's Stint
    Temminck's Stint, Calidris or Erolia temminckii, is a small wader.This stint's breeding habitat is bogs and marshes in the taiga of Arctic northern Europe and Asia. It will breed in southern Scandinavia and occasionally Scotland. It has a distinctive hovering display flight. It nests in a scrape...

     Calidris temminckii
  • Baird's Sandpiper
    Baird's Sandpiper
    The Baird's Sandpiper is a small shorebird. It is among those calidrids sometimes separated in Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short thin dark bill. They are dark brown on top and mainly white underneath with a black patch on the rump. The head and breast are light brown with dark streaks. In...

     Calidris bairdii (A)
  • Pectoral Sandpiper
    Pectoral Sandpiper
    The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...

     Calidris melanotos
  • Curlew Sandpiper
    Curlew Sandpiper
    The Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...

     Calidris ferruginea
  • Dunlin
    Dunlin
    The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...

     Calidris alpina
  • Purple Sandpiper
    Purple Sandpiper
    The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...

     Calidris maritima
  • Broad-billed Sandpiper
    Broad-billed Sandpiper
    The Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small wading bird. It is the only member of the genus Limicola; some have proposed that it should be placed in the genus Erolia with the "stint" sandpipers, but more recent research suggests that it is should rather go into the genus Philomachus with the ruff and...

     Limicola falcinellus
  • Ruff Philomachus pugnax
  • Red-necked Phalarope
    Red-necked Phalarope
    The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....

     Phalaropus lobatus
  • Red Phalarope
    Red Phalarope
    The Red Phalarope , Phalaropus fulicarius, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia...

     Phalaropus fulicarius

Skuas and jaegers

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Stercorariidae

The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants. There are 7 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Great Skua
    Great Skua
    The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...

     Stercorarius skua
  • Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus
  • Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
  • Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus

Gulls

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...

s and kittiwake
Kittiwake
The kittiwakes are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the Black-legged Kittiwake and the Red-legged Kittiwake . The epithets "Black-legged" and "Red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where R...

s. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. There are 55 species worldwide and 15 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Mew Gull
    Common Gull
    The Common Gull or Mew Gull Larus canus is a medium-sized gull which breeds in northern Asia, northern Europe and northwestern North America. It migrates further south in winter...

     Larus canus
  • Audouin's Gull
    Audouin's Gull
    The Audouin's Gull is a large gull restricted to the Mediterranean and the western coast of Saharan Africa. It breeds on small islands colonially or alone, laying 2-3 eggs on a ground nest...

     Larus audouinii
  • Ring-billed Gull
    Ring-billed Gull
    The Ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull.Adults are length and with a wingspan. The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims...

     Larus delawarensis
  • Great Black-backed Gull
    Great Black-backed Gull
    The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world, which breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic...

     Larus marinus
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull
    Lesser Black-backed Gull
    The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa...

     Larus fuscus
  • Caspian Gull
    Caspian Gull
    Caspian Gull is a name applied to the gull taxon Larus cachinnans, a member of the Herring Gull/Lesser Black-backed Gull complex.- Description :...

     Larus cachinnans
  • Gray-headed Gull Larus cirrocephalus
  • Black-headed Gull
    Black-headed Gull
    The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...

     Larus ridibundus
  • Slender-billed Gull
    Slender-billed Gull
    The Slender-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus genei, is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to north Africa and India, and a...

     Larus genei
  • Bonaparte's Gull
    Bonaparte's Gull
    The Bonaparte's Gull is a small gull.The Bonaparte's Gull is a small species, larger only than the Little Gull and the Saunders's Gull among all gull species. Adults are long with a wingspan and a body mass of . They have a black hood and a short thin dark bill. The body is mainly white with...

     Larus philadelphia
  • Mediterranean Gull
    Mediterranean Gull
    The Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, is a small gull which breeds almost entirely in Europe, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey. There are colonies elsewhere in southern Europe, and this species has undergone a dramatic range expansion in...

     Larus melanocephalus
  • Laughing Gull
    Laughing Gull
    The Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Northernmost populations migrate further south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare vagrant to western...

     Larus atricilla
  • Little Gull
    Little Gull
    The Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus, is a small gull which breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It also has small colonies in parts of southern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and the northeast USA. As is the case with many gulls,...

     Larus minutus
  • Sabine's Gull
    Sabine's Gull
    The Sabine's Gull is a small gull. Its generic placement is disputed; some authors treat it as the sole species in the genus Xema as Xema sabini, while others retain it in the genus Larus as Larus sabini. It breeds in the arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through northernmost North America...

     Xema sabini
  • Black-legged Kittiwake
    Black-legged Kittiwake
    The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....

     Rissa tridactyla

Terns

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Sternidae

Tern
Tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

s are a group of generally general medium to large sea-birds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species now known to live in excess of 25 to 30 years. There are 44 species worldwide and 15 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Gull-billed Tern
    Gull-billed Tern
    The Gull-billed Tern formerly Sterna nilotica , is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...

     Sterna nilotica
  • Caspian Tern
    Caspian Tern
    The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...

     Sterna caspia
  • Lesser Crested Tern
    Lesser Crested Tern
    The Lesser Crested Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...

     Sterna bengalensis
  • Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis
  • Royal Tern
    Royal Tern
    The Royal Tern is a seabird in the tern family Sternidae. This bird has two distinctive subspecies. T. m. maximus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico into the Caribbean. The slightly smaller T. m. albididorsalis breeds in coastal west Africa...

     Sterna maxima
  • Roseate Tern
    Roseate Tern
    The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

     Sterna dougallii
  • Common Tern
    Common Tern
    The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...

     Sterna hirundo
  • Arctic Tern
    Arctic Tern
    The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...

     Sterna paradisaea
  • Little Tern
    Little Tern
    The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...

     Sterna albifrons
  • Bridled Tern
    Bridled Tern
    The Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...

     Sterna anaethetus
  • Sooty Tern
    Sooty Tern
    The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...

     Sterna fuscata
  • Whiskered Tern
    Whiskered Tern
    The Whiskered Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details....

     Chlidonias hybridus
  • White-winged Tern
    White-winged Tern
    The White-winged Tern, or White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, is a small tern generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across from Southeastern Europe east to Australia....

     Chlidonias leucopterus
  • Black Tern
    Black Tern
    The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.- Description :...

     Chlidonias niger
  • Black Noddy
    Black Noddy
    The Black Noddy or White-capped Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. It resembles the closely related Brown or Common Noddy , but is smaller with darker plumage, a whiter cap, a longer, straighter beak and shorter tail...

     Anous minutus

Skimmers

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Rynchopidae

Skimmer
Skimmer
The Skimmers, Rynchopidae, are a small family of tern-like birds in the order Charadriiformes, which also includes the waders, gulls and auks. The family comprises three species found in South Asia, Africa, and the Americas....

s are a small family of tropical tern-like birds. They have an elongated lower mandible which they use to feed by flying low over the water surface and skimming the water for small fish. There are 3 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • African Skimmer
    African Skimmer
    The African Skimmer is a skimmer that lives in Senegal to northern Congo River and southern Nile Valley, southern Tanzania to the Zambezi Valley, and then to Natal and Angola.- Appearance :...

     Rynchops flavirostris

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Alcidae

Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins bnd differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. There are 24 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Common Murre Uria aalge
  • Razorbill
    Razorbill
    The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...

     Alca torda

Sandgrouse

Order: Pterocliformes. Family: Pteroclidae

Sandgrouse have small, pigeon like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Their legs are feathered down to the toes. There are 16 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
    Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
    The Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Pterocles exustus, is a species of sandgrouse. They are found in sparse, bushy, arid land which is common in central and northern Africa, and southern Asia. Though they live in hot, arid climates, they are highly reliant on water. They have been known to travel up...

     Pterocles exustus
  • Spotted Sandgrouse
    Spotted Sandgrouse
    The Spotted Sandgrouse is a species of bird in the Pteroclididae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,...

     Pterocles senegallus
  • Crowned Sandgrouse
    Crowned Sandgrouse
    The Crowned Sandgrouse is a species of bird in the Pteroclididae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, and...

     Pterocles coronatus
  • Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse
    Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse
    The Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse is a species of bird in the Pteroclididae family, which is named after Martin Lichtenstein. They are nomadic, mostly nocturnal birds, which drink before dawn and after dusk....

     Pterocles lichtensteinii
  • Four-banded Sandgrouse
    Four-banded Sandgrouse
    The Four-banded Sandgrouse is a medium-sized bird in the sandgrouse family.It breeds in a belt across Africa from Mauritania and Cameroon east to Sudan and Uganda. It is much more common in the west of its range...

     Pterocles quadricinctus

Pigeons and doves

Order: Columbiformes
Columbiformes
Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae. 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order....

. Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...

s are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere
Cère
The Cère is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, near the mountain Plomb du Cantal...

. There are 308 species worldwide and 14 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Rock Pigeon
    Rock Pigeon
    The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....

     Columba livia
  • Speckled Pigeon
    Speckled Pigeon
    The Speckled Pigeon or Rock Pigeon is a pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common and widespread species in open habitats over a good deal of its range, although there are sizeable gaps in its distribution.This species builds a large stick nest...

     Columba guinea
  • Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus
  • Eurasian Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur
  • African Collared Dove
    African Collared Dove
    The African Collared Dove is a small dove found in Africa in the arid region south of the Sahara. Its range extends in a band right across the continent, and into southern Arabia. Although it lives in arid lands, it is found around water sources.This bird is typically around 26 cm in length...

     Streptopelia roseogrisea
  • African Mourning Dove
    African Mourning Dove
    The Mourning Collared Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. Despite its name, it is not a close relative of the North American Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura. This species is common or abundant near water...

     Streptopelia decipiens
  • Red-eyed Dove
    Red-eyed Dove
    The Red-eyed Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common, if not abundant, species in most habitats other than desert....

     Streptopelia semitorquata
  • Vinaceous Dove
    Vinaceous Dove
    The Vinaceous Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in a belt across Africa just south of the Sahara Desert....

     Streptopelia vinacea
  • Laughing Dove
    Laughing Dove
    The Laughing Dove is a small pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in the tropics in Africa south of the Sahara, the Middle East and southern Asia east to India. In India it is also known as the Little Brown Dove...

     Streptopelia senegalensis
  • Black-billed Wood Dove
    Black-billed Wood Dove
    The Black-billed Wood Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in a belt across Africa just south of the Sahara Desert....

     Turtur abyssinicus
  • Blue-spotted Wood Dove Turtur afer
  • Namaqua Dove
    Namaqua Dove
    The Namaqua Dove is a small pigeon. It is the only species in the genus Oena. .-Description:The Namaqua Dove is a tiny sparrow-sized pigeon, typically 22 cm in length with a 28–33 cm wingspan, and weighing 40g. It has a very long black tapered tail, and the size and shape have led to...

     Oena capensis
  • Bruce's Green Pigeon Treron waalia
  • African Green Pigeon Treron calva

Parrots, macaws and allies

Order: Psittaciformes. Family: Psittacidae

Parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak shape. Their upper mandibles have slight mobility in the joint with the skull and the have a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. There are 335 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Rose-ringed Parakeet
    Rose-ringed Parakeet
    The Rose-ringed Parakeet , also known as the Ringnecked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical parakeet species that has an extremely large range. Since the trend of the population appears to be increasing, the species has been evaluated as Least Concern by IUCN in 2009.Rose-ringed parakeets are...

     Psittacula krameri
  • Senegal Parrot
    Senegal Parrot
    The Senegal Parrot is a Poicephalus parrot which is a resident breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which make up its diet. It is considered a farm pest in Africa, often feeding on...

     Poicephalus senegalus

Turacos

Order: Cuculiformes
Cuculiformes
The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...

. Family: Musophagidae

The turacos, plantain eaters and go-away birds make up the bird family Musophagidae. They are medium-sized arboreal birds. The turacos and plantain eaters are brightly coloured birds, usually blue, green or purple. The go-away birds are mostly grey and white. There are 23 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Western Plantain-eater Crinifer piscator

Cuckoos and anis

Order: Cuculiformes
Cuculiformes
The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...

. Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoo
Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...

s, roadrunner
Geococcyx
The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...

s and anis
Ani (bird)
The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...

. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. There are 138 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Pied Cuckoo
    Pied Cuckoo
    The Jacobin Cuckoo, Pied Cuckoo, or Pied Crested Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the Monsoon rains due to the timing of its arrival...

     Clamator jacobinus
  • Levaillant's Cuckoo
    Levaillant's Cuckoo
    Levaillant's Cuckoo, Clamator levaillantii is a cuckoo which is a resident breeding species in Africa south of the Sahara. It is found in bushy habitats. It is a brood parasite, using the nests of bulbuls and babblers...

     Clamator levaillantii
  • Great Spotted Cuckoo
    Great Spotted Cuckoo
    The Great Spotted Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....

     Clamator glandarius
  • Common Cuckoo
    Common Cuckoo
    The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....

     Cuculus canorus
  • African Cuckoo
    African Cuckoo
    The African Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,...

     Cuculus gularis
  • Klaas's Cuckoo
    Klaas's Cuckoo
    The Klaas's Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,...

     Chrysococcyx klaas
  • Dideric Cuckoo
    Dideric Cuckoo
    The Diederik Cuckoo , formerly Dideric Cuckoo or Didric Cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin....

     Chrysococcyx caprius
  • Senegal Coucal
    Senegal Coucal
    The Senegal Coucal, Centropus senegalensis, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin....

     Centropus senegalensis

Barn owls

Order: Strigiformes. Family: Tytonidae
Tytonidae
Barn-owls are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons...



Barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

s are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. There are 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Barn Owl
    Barn Owl
    The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

     Tyto alba

Typical owls

Order: Strigiformes. Family: Strigidae

Typical owl
Typical owl
True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...

s are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. There are 195 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • African Scops-Owl Otus senegalensis
  • European Scops-Owl Otus scops
  • Northern White-faced Owl
    Northern White-faced Owl
    The Northern White-faced Owl is a species of owl in the Strigidae family. The Southern White-faced Owl was formerly included in this species and the two were known as the White-faced Scops-Owl....

     Ptilopsis leucotis
  • Eurasian Eagle-Owl Bubo bubo
  • Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
    Pharaoh Eagle-owl
    The Pharaoh Eagle-Owl is a species of owl in the Strigidae family.It is found in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates.-References:* BirdLife International 2004....

     Bubo ascalaphus
  • Grayish Eagle-Owl Bubo cinerascens
  • Verreaux's Eagle-Owl Bubo lacteus
  • Pearl-spotted Owlet
    Pearl-spotted Owlet
    The Pearl-spotted Owlet is an owl which breeds in Africa south of the Sahara. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.Pearl-spotted Owlet is a common and easily seen...

     Glaucidium perlatum
  • Little Owl
    Little Owl
    The Little Owl is a bird which is resident in much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Asia east to Korea, and north Africa. It is not native to Great Britain, but was first introduced in 1842, and is now naturalised there...

     Athene noctua
  • Short-eared Owl
    Short-eared Owl
    The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...

     Asio flammeus
  • Marsh Owl
    Marsh Owl
    The Marsh Owl, Asio capensis, is a species of owl which is a mainly resident breeder in Africa and Madagascar.This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...

     Asio capensis

Nightjars

Order: Caprimulgiformes
Caprimulgiformes
The Caprimulgiformes is an order of birds that includes a number of birds with global distribution . They are generally insectivorous and nocturnal...

. Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...

s are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills that usually nest on the ground. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. There are 86 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Red-necked Nightjar
    Red-necked Nightjar
    The Red-necked Nightjar, Caprimulgus ruficollis, is the largest of the nightjars occurring in Europe. It breeds in Iberia and north Africa, and winters in tropical west Africa.-Habitat:...

     Caprimulgus ruficollis
  • Eurasian Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus
  • Egyptian Nightjar
    Egyptian Nightjar
    The Egyptian Nightjar, Caprimulgus aegyptius, is a medium-small nightjar which occurs in south west Asia and north Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It is a late migrant, seldom appearing before the end of April or beginning of May...

     Caprimulgus aegyptius
  • Golden Nightjar
    Golden Nightjar
    The Golden Nightjar is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family.It is found in Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....

     Caprimulgus eximius
  • Plain Nightjar
    Plain Nightjar
    The Plain Nightjar is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,...

     Caprimulgus inornatus
  • Long-tailed Nightjar
    Long-tailed Nightjar
    The Long-tailed Nightjar is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,...

     Caprimulgus climacurus
  • Standard-winged Nightjar
    Standard-winged Nightjar
    The Standard-winged Nightjar, Macrodipteryx longipennis, is a bird in the nightjar family.-Distribution and habitat:It is a resident breeder in Africa from Senegal east to Ethiopia...

     Macrodipteryx longipennis

Swifts

Order: Apodiformes
Apodiformes
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...

. Family: Apodidae

Swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...

s are small aerial birds, spending the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. There are 98 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • African Palm-Swift Cypsiurus parvus
  • Alpine Swift
    Alpine Swift
    The Alpine Swift syn. is a species of Swift. The bird is superficially similar to a large Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes...

     Tachymarptis melba
  • Common Swift
    Common Swift
    The Common Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to the Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes...

     Apus apus
  • Plain Swift
    Plain Swift
    The Plain Swift is a medium-sized swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin, it is not related to those passerine species. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles.Swifts have very short legs that...

     Apus unicolor
  • Pallid Swift
    Pallid Swift
    The Pallid Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since the swifts are in the order Apodiformes...

     Apus pallidus
  • Little Swift
    Little Swift
    The Little Swift , is a small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles...

     Apus affinis
  • White-rumped Swift
    White-rumped Swift
    The White-rumped Swift is a small swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a House Martin, it is completely unrelated to that passerine species. The resemblances between the swallows and swifts are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles.Swifts have very short legs...

     Apus caffer

Mousebirds

Order: Coliiformes. Family: Coliidae

The mousebirds are slender greyish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body feathers and very long thin tails. They are arboreal and scurry through the leaves like rodents in search of berries, fruit and buds. They are acrobatic, and can feed upside down. All species have strong claws and reversible outer toes. They also have crests and stubby bills. There are 6 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Blue-naped Mousebird
    Blue-naped Mousebird
    The Blue-naped Mousebird, Urocolius macrourus, is a bird found in the drier parts of eastern Africa. It has also been known as the "Blue-naped Coly" under binomial Colius macrourus.- Physical characteristics :...

     Urocolius macrourus

Kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. There are 93 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
  • Malachite Kingfisher
    Malachite Kingfisher
    The Malachite Kingfisher is a river kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate related movements....

     Alcedo cristata
  • White-bellied Kingfisher
    White-bellied Kingfisher
    The White-bellied Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, São Tomé and...

     Alcedo leucogaster
  • African Pygmy-Kingfisher
    African Pygmy-Kingfisher
    The African Pygmy Kingfisher is a small insectivorous kingfisher found in the Afrotropics, mostly in woodland habitats. Some texts refer to this species as Ceyx pictus.-Description:...

     Ispidina picta
  • Gray-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala
  • Woodland Kingfisher
    Woodland Kingfisher
    The Woodland Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher.-Description:This is a medium-sized kingfisher, 20–23 cm in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wing panel and tail. Its head, neck and underparts are white, and its shoulders are black. The flight of the Woodland Kingfisher is rapid and direct...

     Halcyon senegalensis
  • Blue-breasted Kingfisher
    Blue-breasted Kingfisher
    The Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Halcyon malimbica, is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in tropical west Africa. This kingfisher is essentially resident, but retreats from drier savanna areas to wetter habitats in the dry season....

     Halcyon malimbica
  • Striped Kingfisher
    Striped Kingfisher
    The Striped Kingfisher is a species of bird in the tree kingfisher family. It was first described by Edward, Lord Stanley, in Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia in 1814 as "Chelicut Kingfisher" Alaudo Chelicuti....

     Halcyon chelicuti
  • Giant Kingfisher
    Giant Kingfisher
    The Giant Kingfisher is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert other than the arid southwest....

     Megaceryle maximus
  • Pied Kingfisher
    Pied Kingfisher
    The Pied Kingfisher is a water kingfisher and is found widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Their black and white plumage, crest and the habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish makes it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast while females have a...

     Ceryle rudis

Bee-eaters

Order: Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Meropidae

The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...

 birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colorful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are 26 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Red-throated Bee-eater
    Red-throated Bee-eater
    The Red-throated Bee-eater is a species of bird in the Meropidae family.This species has a large range, and is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania,...

     Merops bulocki
  • Little Bee-eater
    Little Bee-eater
    The little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It should not be confused with the Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall...

     Merops pusillus
  • Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
    Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
    The Swallow-tailed Bee-eater is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in savannah woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. It is partially migratory, moving in response to rainfall patterns....

     Merops hirundineus
  • White-throated Bee-eater
    White-throated Bee-eater
    The White-throated Bee-eater, Merops albicollis is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in semi-desert along the southern edge of the Sahara, Africa...

     Merops albicollis
  • Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
  • Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
    Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
    The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed...

     Merops persicus
  • European Bee-eater
    European Bee-eater
    The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka...

     Merops apiaster
  • Northern Carmine Bee-eater
    Northern Carmine Bee-eater
    The Northern Carmine Bee-eater Merops nubicus is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. Alternative common names include the Carmine Bee-eater or the Nubian Bee-eater.-Distribution:...

     Merops nubicus

Typical rollers

Order: Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Coraciidae

Rollers resemble crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s and bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...

s. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not. There are 12 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • European Roller
    European Roller
    The European Roller, Coracias garrulus, is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East and Central Asia and Morocco....

     Coracias garrulus
  • Abyssinian Roller
    Abyssinian Roller
    The Abyssinian Roller, Coracias abyssinicus, is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa in a belt south of the Sahara, known as the Sahel...

     Coracias abyssinica
  • Rufous-crowned Roller
    Rufous-crowned Roller
    The Purple Roller , also called the Rufous-crowned Roller, is found over sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as Namibia and the Transvaal. Compared with other rollers its colours are rather dull and its voice rather harsh and grating...

     Coracias naevia
  • Blue-bellied Roller
    Blue-bellied Roller
    The Blue-bellied Roller, Coracias cyanogaster is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across Africa in a narrow belt from Senegal to northeast Zaire. It is resident, apart from some local seasonal movements, in mature moist savannah dominated by Isoberlinia trees.The Blue-bellied...

     Coracias cyanogaster
  • Broad-billed Roller
    Broad-billed Roller
    The Broad-billed Roller, Eurystomus glaucurus, is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial...

     Eurystomus glaucurus

Hoopoes

Order: Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Upupidae

Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head. There are 2 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Hoopoe
    Hoopoe
    The Hoopoe is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes...

     Upupa epops

Woodhoopoes

Order: Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Phoeniculidae

The woodhoopoes are related to the kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s, roller
Roller
The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and...

s and hoopoe
Hoopoe
The Hoopoe is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes...

. They most resemble the last species with their long curved bills, used for probing for insects, and short rounded wings. However, they differ in that they have metallic plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...

, often blue, green or purple, and lack an erectile crest. There are 8 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus
  • Black Scimitar-bill Rhinopomastus aterrimus

Hornbills

Order: Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Bucerotidae

Hornbills are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cow's horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible. Frequently, the bill is brightly coloured. There are 57 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Red-billed Hornbill
    Red-billed Hornbill
    Red-billed Hornbill is a relatively small species of hornbill found in savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa. It is sometimes split into five species, the Northern Red-billed Hornbill , Western Red-billed Hornbill , Tanzania Red-billed Hornbill , Southern Red-billed Hornbill Red-billed...

     Tockus erythrorhynchus
  • African Pied Hornbill
    African Pied Hornbill
    African Pied Hornbill, Tockus fasciatus, is a hornbill. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World.African Pied Hornbill is a common resident breeder in much of equatorial Africa from The Gambia to western Uganda and northern Angola. This is a bird mainly of...

     Tockus fasciatus
  • African Gray Hornbill Tockus nasutus
  • Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill
    Abyssinian Ground-hornbill
    The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill or Northern Ground Hornbill, Bucorvus abyssinicus, is one of two species of ground hornbill. The other is the Southern Ground Hornbill....

     Bucorvus abyssinicus

Barbets

Order: Piciformes
Piciformes
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives...

. Family: Capitonidae

The barbets are plump birds, with short necks and large heads. They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills. Most species are brightly coloured. There are 84 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
    Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
    The Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus chrysoconus, is a small African barbet formerly known as Yellow-fronted Tinker Barbet. Barbets are near passerine birds with bristles around the base of the bill and a world-wide tropical distribution....

     Pogoniulus chrysoconus
  • Vieillot's Barbet
    Vieillot's Barbet
    The Vieillot's Barbet, Lybius vieilloti, is a small African barbet. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a world-wide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills....

     Lybius vieilloti
  • Bearded Barbet
    Bearded Barbet
    The Bearded Barbet is an African barbet. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a worldwide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills....

     Lybius dubius
  • Yellow-breasted Barbet
    Yellow-breasted Barbet
    The Yellow-breasted Barbet is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan.-References:...

     Trachyphonus margaritatus

Honeyguides

Order: Piciformes
Piciformes
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives...

. Family: Indicatoridae

Honeyguides are among the few birds that feed on wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...

. They are named for the behaviour of the Greater Honeyguide
Greater Honeyguide
The Greater Honeyguide is a bird in the family Indicatoridae, paleotropical near passerine birds related to the woodpeckers. Its English and scientific names refer to its habit of guiding people to bee colonies....

 which leads large animals to bees' nests and then feeds on the wax once the animal has broken the nest open to get at the honey. There are 17 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Greater Honeyguide
    Greater Honeyguide
    The Greater Honeyguide is a bird in the family Indicatoridae, paleotropical near passerine birds related to the woodpeckers. Its English and scientific names refer to its habit of guiding people to bee colonies....

     Indicator indicator
  • Lesser Honeyguide
    Lesser Honeyguide
    The Lesser Honeyguide is a species of bird in the Indicatoridae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,...

     Indicator minor

Woodpeckers and allies

Order: Piciformes
Piciformes
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives...

. Family: Picidae
Picidae
The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions...



Woodpeckers are small to medium sized birds with chisel like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward, and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. There are 218 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Eurasian Wryneck
    Eurasian Wryneck
    The Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla, is a species of wryneck in the family of woodpeckers.This species breeds in temperate regions of Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa and southern Asia. It is a bird of open woodland and orchards...

     Jynx torquilla
  • Fine-spotted Woodpecker
    Fine-spotted Woodpecker
    The Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Campethera punctuligera, is a bird. It is a widespread and frequently common resident breeder in much of west and central tropical Africa.It is a species associated with open forest and bush...

     Campethera punctuligera
  • Golden-tailed Woodpecker
    Golden-tailed Woodpecker
    The Golden-tailed Woodpecker is a species of bird in the Picidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Canada, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali,...

     Campethera abingoni
  • Little Green Woodpecker
    Little Green Woodpecker
    The Little Green Woodpecker is a species of bird in the Picidae family.It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.-References:...

     Campethera maculosa
  • Buff-spotted Woodpecker
    Buff-spotted Woodpecker
    The Buff-spotted Woodpecker is a species of bird in the Picidae family.It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania,...

     Campethera nivosa
  • Little Gray Woodpecker Dendropicos elachus
  • Cardinal Woodpecker
    Cardinal Woodpecker
    The Cardinal Woodpecker, Dendropicos fuscescens, is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species found in a wide range of habitats from dense forest to thornbush...

     Dendropicos fuscescens
  • Gray Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae
  • Brown-backed Woodpecker
    Brown-backed Woodpecker
    The Brown-backed Woodpecker is a species of bird in the Picidae family. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria,...

     Dendropicos obsoletus

Larks

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds. There are 91 species worldwide and 16 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Singing Bushlark
    Singing Bushlark
    The Singing Bush Lark is a species of lark found in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.- Range and population :The range of M. cantillans is quite extensive, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10,000,000 km2; and its global population is thought to be large, though it has...

     Mirafra cantillans
  • Kordofan Lark
    Kordofan Lark
    The Kordofan Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.- Range :The Kordofan Lark has a range that is quite large spanning seven African nations; Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Sudan...

     Mirafra cordofanica
  • Flappet Lark
    Flappet Lark
    The Flappet Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.- Range and population :Mirafra rufocinnamomea has a large range covering much of the African continent with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10,000,000 square km...

     Mirafra rufocinnamomea
  • Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark
    Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark
    The Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark, Eremopterix leucotis, is a passerine bird which is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.This lark is a bird of open dry habitats. It nests on the ground and lays one egg. The food is insects and seeds....

     Eremopterix leucotis
  • Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
    Black-crowned Sparrow-lark
    The Black-crowned Sparrow-lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia,...

     Eremopterix nigriceps
  • Bar-tailed Lark
    Bar-tailed Lark
    The Bar-tailed Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Cape Verde, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,and...

     Ammomanes cincturus
  • Desert Lark
    Desert Lark
    The Desert Lark, Ammomanes deserti, breeds in deserts and semi-deserts from the Sahara east through the Arabian peninsula and the Middle East to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan....

     Ammomanes deserti
  • Greater Hoopoe-Lark
    Greater Hoopoe-lark
    The Greater Hoopoe-lark or Hoopoe Lark , is a passerine bird which is a breeding resident of arid, desert and semi-desert regions from the Cape Verde Islands across much of north Africa, through the Arabian peninsula , Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India...

     Alaemon alaudipes
  • Thick-billed Lark
    Thick-billed Lark
    The Thick-billed Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Rhamphocoris...

     Ramphocoris clotbey
  • Greater Short-toed Lark
    Greater Short-toed Lark
    The Greater Short-toed Lark or sometimes just Short-toed Lark is a small passerine bird. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and across temperate Asia from Turkey and southern Russia to Mongolia. It is sometimes considered conspecific with Calandrella cinerea...

     Calandrella brachydactyla
  • Lesser Short-toed Lark
    Lesser Short-toed Lark
    The Lesser Short-toed Lark is a small passerine bird. It breeds in Spain, north Africa, also including Turkey eastwards across the semi-deserts of central Asia to Mongolia and China....

     Calandrella rufescens
  • Dunn's Lark
    Dunn's Lark
    Dunn's Lark is a small passerine bird of the lark family. It is a desert bird which is found across parts of the Sahara and Arabia. There are two subspecies: E. d. dunni in the Sahara and E. d. eremodites in Arabia...

     Eremalauda dunni
  • Crested Lark
    Crested Lark
    The Crested Lark, Galerida cristata, breeds across most of temperate Eurasia from Portugal to northeast China and eastern India, and in Africa south to Niger...

     Galerida cristata
  • Thekla Lark
    Thekla Lark
    The Thekla Lark, Galerida theklae, breeds in Iberia, northern Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia. It is a sedentary species....

     Galerida theklae
  • Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
  • Temminck's Lark
    Temminck's Lark
    The Temminck’s Lark or Temminck’s Horned Lark , breeds across much of north Africa, through northern Saudi Arabia to western Iraq. It is mainly resident, but some populations of this passerine bird are partially migratory, moving further south in winter.This lark is a bird of open stony...

     Eremophila bilopha

Swallows and martins

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Hirundinidae

The Hirundinidae family is a group of passerines characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and short bills with wide gape. The feet are designed for perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. There are 75 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
  • Plain Martin Riparia paludicola
  • Eurasian Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris
  • Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula
  • Barn Swallow
    Barn Swallow
    The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...

     Hirundo rustica
  • Red-chested Swallow
    Red-chested Swallow
    The Red-chested Swallow is a small non-migratory passerine bird found in Africa in West Africa, the Congo basin and Ethiopia. It has a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings....

     Hirundo lucida
  • Wire-tailed Swallow
    Wire-tailed Swallow
    The Wire-tailed Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. Swallows are somewhat similar in habits and appearance to other aerial insectivores, such as the related martins and the unrelated swifts ....

     Hirundo smithii
  • Mosque Swallow
    Mosque Swallow
    The Mosque Swallow is a large swallow. It is a resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa, although most common in the west. It does not migrate, but will follow the rains to some extent....

     Cecropis senegalensis
  • Red-rumped Swallow
    Red-rumped Swallow
    The Red-rumped Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory...

     Cecropis daurica
  • Common House-Martin Delichon urbica

Wagtails and pipits

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Motacillidae
Motacillidae
The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...



The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. There are 54 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • White Wagtail
    White Wagtail
    "Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...

     Motacilla alba
  • African Pied Wagtail
    African Pied Wagtail
    The African Pied Wagtail is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family.-Habitat and distribution:It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial...

     Motacilla aguimp
  • Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
  • Gray Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
  • Mountain Wagtail
    Mountain Wagtail
    The Mountain Wagtail , also known as the Long-tailed Wagtail, is a species of bird in the Motacillidae family....

     Motacilla clara
  • Plain-backed Pipit Anthus leucophrys
  • African Pipit
    African Pipit
    The African Pipit is a fairly small passerine bird belonging to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae. It is also known as the Grassveld Pipit or Grassland Pipit...

     Anthus cinnamomeus
  • Tawny Pipit
    Tawny Pipit
    The Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris, is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia, and northwest Africa. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent....

     Anthus campestris
  • Tree Pipit
    Tree Pipit
    Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis, is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and temperate western and central Asia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia....

     Anthus trivialis
  • Meadow Pipit
    Meadow Pipit
    The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...

     Anthus pratensis
  • Red-throated Pipit
    Red-throated Pipit
    The Red-throated Pipit is a small passerine bird which breeds in the far north of Europe and Asia, with a foothold in northern Alaska. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa, south and east Asia and west coast USA...

     Anthus cervinus

Cuckoo-shrikes

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Campephagidae

The cuckoo-shrikes are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although some species are brightly coloured. There are 82 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike
    White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike
    The White-breasted Cuckooshrike is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali,...

     Coracina pectoralis
  • Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike
    Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike
    The Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya,...

     Campephaga phoenicea

Bulbuls

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throat or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive brown to black plumage. Some species have distinct crests. There are 130 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Common Bulbul
    Common Bulbul
    The Common Bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a ubiquitous resident breeder throughout Africa...

     Pycnonotus barbatus

Thrushes and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Turdidae

The thrushes
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...

 are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. There are 335 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush Monticola saxatilis
  • Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius
  • Ring Ouzel
    Ring Ouzel
    The Ring Ouzel is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is the mountain equivalent of the closely related Common Blackbird, and breeds in gullies, rocky areas or scree slopes....

     Turdus torquatus
  • Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
  • Song Thrush
    Song Thrush
    The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...

     Turdus philomelos

Cisticolas and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Cisticolidae
Cisticolidae
The Cisticolidae family of small passerine birds is a group of about 110 warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are often included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae....



The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are generally very small birds of drab brown or grey appearance found in open country such as grassland or scrub. There are 111 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Red-faced Cisticola
    Red-faced Cisticola
    The Red-faced Cisticola is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia,...

     Cisticola erythrops
  • Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticola aberrans
  • Winding Cisticola
    Winding Cisticola
    The Winding Cisticola is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family. It has a scattered distribution across Africa south of the Sahara.-Taxonomy:...

     Cisticola galactotes
  • Croaking Cisticola
    Croaking Cisticola
    The Croaking Cisticola, Cisticola natalensis, is an Old World warbler in the genus Cisticola. This genus is sometimes split off with various other southern warbler genera and given family status as the Cisticolidae....

     Cisticola natalensis
  • Zitting Cisticola
    Zitting Cisticola
    The Zitting Cisticola or Streaked Fantail Warbler , is widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa outside the deserts and rainforest, and southern Asia down to northern Australia...

     Cisticola juncidis
  • Desert Cisticola
    Desert Cisticola
    The Desert Cisticola is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Its...

     Cisticola aridulus
  • Streaked Scrub-Warbler
    Streaked Scrub-warbler
    The Streaked Scrub-warbler is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United...

     Scotocerca inquieta
  • Tawny-flanked Prinia
    Tawny-flanked Prinia
    The Tawny-flanked Prinia is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Prinia in the family Cisticolidae, a family of Old World warblers. It is widespread and common in most parts of Africa south of the Sahara. The Plain Prinia The Tawny-flanked Prinia (Prinia subflava) is a small passerine...

     Prinia subflava
  • River Prinia
    River Prinia
    The River Prinia is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Senegal.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and swamps.-References:...

     Prinia fluviatilis
  • Cricket Longtail
    Cricket Longtail
    The Cricket Warbler or Cricket Longtail is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family. It belongs to the genus Spiloptila; it is often the only species included in the genus but sometimes the Red-fronted Warbler is placed there as well.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea,...

     Spiloptila clamans
  • Green-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura

Old World warblers

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Sylviidae
Sylviidae
Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...



The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. The Sylviidae mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. There are 291 species worldwide and 29 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Moustached Grass-Warbler
    Moustached Grass-warbler
    The Moustached Grass-Warbler is a species of African Warbler, formerly placed in the Sylviidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea,...

     Melocichla mentalis
  • Grasshopper Warbler
    Grasshopper Warbler
    The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....

     Locustella naevia
  • Savi's Warbler
    Savi's Warbler
    The Savi's Warbler, Locustella luscinioides, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in southern Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....

     Locustella luscinioides
  • Aquatic Warbler
    Aquatic Warbler
    The Aquatic Warbler, Acrocephalus paludicola, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in west Africa...

     Acrocephalus paludicola
  • Sedge Warbler
    Sedge Warbler
    The Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...

     Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
  • Eurasian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
  • African Reed-Warbler
    African Reed-warbler
    The African Reed Warbler or African Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus baeticatus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara...

     Acrocephalus baeticatus
  • Great Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus
  • Greater Swamp-Warbler
    Greater Swamp-warbler
    The Greater Swamp-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia,...

     Acrocephalus rufescens
  • Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
    Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
    The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warbelrs, Acrocephalidae, in the tree warbler genus Hippolais ...

     Hippolais pallida
  • Melodious Warbler
    Melodious Warbler
    The Melodious Warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais. It breeds in southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....

     Hippolais polyglotta
  • Icterine Warbler
    Icterine Warbler
    The Icterine Warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais . It breeds in mainland Europe except the southwest, where it is replaced by its western counterpart, Melodious Warbler. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa...

     Hippolais icterina
  • Yellow-bellied Eremomela
    Yellow-bellied Eremomela
    The Yellow-bellied Eremomela is an Old World warbler. However, the taxonomy of the "African warblers", an assemblage of usually species-poor and apparently rather ancient "odd warblers" from Africa is currently in a state of flux.The Yellow-bellied Eremomela is a common breeding species in Africa...

     Eremomela icteropygialis
  • Senegal Eremomela
    Senegal Eremomela
    The Senegal Eremomela, Eremomela pusilla, is a warbler.These 10.5 cm long warblers have olive upperparts and yellow underparts. The throat is white. The sexes are similar in appearance.Like most warblers, the Green-backed Eremomela is insectivorous...

     Eremomela pusilla
  • Northern Crombec
    Northern Crombec
    The Northern Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali,...

     Sylvietta brachyura
  • Willow Warbler
    Willow Warbler
    The Willow Warbler is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia...

     Phylloscopus trochilus
  • Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
  • Western Bonelli's Warbler
    Western Bonelli's Warbler
    Western Bonelli's Warbler is a "warbler" in the leaf warbler genus Phylloscopus. It was formerly regarded as the western subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's Warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic developments, this species is now usually considered to be two species :* Western Bonelli's...

     Phylloscopus bonelli
  • Wood Warbler
    Wood Warbler
    The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...

     Phylloscopus sibilatrix
  • Blackcap
    Blackcap
    The Blackcap is a common and widespread sylviid warbler which breeds throughout temperate Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and winters from northwestern Europe south to tropical Africa...

     Sylvia atricapilla
  • Garden Warbler
    Garden Warbler
    The Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe into western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in central and southern Africa...

     Sylvia borin
  • Greater Whitethroat Sylvia communis
  • Lesser Whitethroat
    Lesser Whitethroat
    The Lesser Whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India.Unlike many typical warblers,...

     Sylvia curruca
  • African Desert Warbler
    African Desert Warbler
    The African Desert Warbler Sylvia deserti is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of northwestern Africa south of the Atlas Mountains from southern Morocco east to western Libya and south to Mali and Niger. It winters in the same area, and does not migrate other than short distances...

     Sylvia deserti
  • Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis
  • Subalpine Warbler
    Subalpine Warbler
    The Subalpine Warbler, Sylvia cantillans, is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and northwest Africa. This small passerine bird is migratory, and winters along the southern edge of the Sahara...

     Sylvia cantillans
  • Sardinian Warbler
    Sardinian Warbler
    The Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala, is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region.-Description:...

     Sylvia melanocephala
  • Spectacled Warbler
    Spectacled Warbler
    The Spectacled Warbler is a species in the typical warbler genus Sylvia. It breeds in north west Africa, southwest Europe from Iberia to Italy, and then further east on the eastern Mediterranean islands and coastal regions. It is mainly resident in Africa, but other populations migrate to winter...

     Sylvia conspicillata
  • Tristram's Warbler
    Tristram's Warbler
    The Tristram's Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Sylviidae family.It is found in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.Its natural habitat is subtropical dry shrubland.-References:...

     Sylvia deserticola

Old World flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. There 274 species worldwide and 28 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Pale Flycatcher
    Pale Flycatcher
    The Pale Flycatcher is a bird species of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, found in Africa.- Range :It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea,...

     Bradornis pallidus
  • Northern Black-Flycatcher Melaenornis edolioides
  • Spotted Flycatcher
    Spotted Flycatcher
    The Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range....

     Muscicapa striata
  • European Pied Flycatcher
    European Pied Flycatcher
    The Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia. It is migratory, wintering mainly in western Africa. It hybridizes with...

     Ficedula hypoleuca
  • Collared Flycatcher
    Collared Flycatcher
    The Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in southeast Europe and southwest Asia and is migratory, wintering in sub Sahara Africa...

     Ficedula albicollis
  • European Robin
    European Robin
    The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...

     Erithacus rubecula
  • Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos
  • Bluethroat
    Bluethroat
    The Bluethroat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...

     Luscinia svecica
  • Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
    Snowy-crowned Robin-chat
    The Snowy-crowned Robin-chat is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family. It is also known as the Snowy-headed Robin-chat....

     Cossypha niveicapilla
  • Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas galactotes
  • African Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas minor
  • Black Scrub-Robin
    Black Scrub-robin
    The Black Scrub-robin is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.It is found in Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Jordan, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and...

     Cercotrichas podobe
  • Black Redstart
    Black Redstart
    The Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family , but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher .-Description:The Black Redstart is 13–14.5 cm in length and 12–20...

     Phoenicurus ochruros
  • Common Redstart
    Common Redstart
    The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...

     Phoenicurus phoenicurus
  • Whinchat
    Whinchat
    The Whinchat Saxicola rubetra is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in Africa.Its scientific name means "small rock-dweller", in reference to its habitat...

     Saxicola rubetra
  • White-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga
  • Black Wheatear
    Black Wheatear
    The Black Wheatear, Oenanthe leucura, is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....

     Oenanthe leucura
  • Northern Wheatear
    Northern Wheatear
    The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...

     Oenanthe oenanthe
  • Mourning Wheatear
    Mourning Wheatear
    The Mourning Wheatear is a bird, one of 14 species of wheatear found in the Palearctic region. It is a small passerine in a group formerly classed as members of the Thrush family Turdidae, but now more generally considered to be part of the Old World Flycatcher family Muscicapidae.The Mourning...

     Oenanthe lugens
  • Red-rumped Wheatear
    Red-rumped Wheatear
    The Red-rumped Wheatear or Buff-rumped Wheatear is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family. It is found in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia,and Yemen.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry...

     Oenanthe moesta
  • Black-eared Wheatear
    Black-eared Wheatear
    The Black-eared Wheatear is a wheatear, a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....

     Oenanthe hispanica
  • Desert Wheatear
    Desert Wheatear
    The Desert Wheatear is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....

     Oenanthe deserti
  • Isabelline Wheatear
    Isabelline Wheatear
    The Isabelline Wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....

     Oenanthe isabellina
  • Heuglin's Wheatear
    Heuglin's Wheatear
    Heuglin's Wheatear is a small passerine bird in the wheatear genus Oenanthe. It occurs in a band across Africa to the south of the Sahara. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of Botta's Wheatear of the Ethiopian Highlands and Arabia but is now usually regarded as a separate species...

     Oenanthe heuglini
  • Familiar Chat
    Familiar Chat
    The Familiar Chat, Cercomela familiaris, is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara in rocky and mountainous habitat and around human habitation.-Description:...

     Cercomela familiaris
  • Northern Anteater-Chat
    Northern Anteater-chat
    The Anteater Chat or Northern Anteater-chat is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Tanzania...

     Myrmecocichla aethiops
  • White-fronted Black-Chat
    White-fronted Black-chat
    The White-fronted Black Chat is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria,...

     Myrmecocichla albifrons
  • Mocking Cliff-Chat
    Mocking Cliff-chat
    The Mocking Cliff Chat is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.It is found in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,...

     Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris

Wattle-eyes

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Platysteiridae

The wattle-eyes or puffback flycatchers are small stout passerine birds of the African tropics. They get their name from the brightly coloured fleshy eye decorations found in most species in this group. There are 31 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Senegal Batis
    Senegal Batis
    The Senegal Batis is a species of bird in the Platysteiridae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or...

     Batis senegalensis

Monarch flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Monarchidae

The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines, which hunt by flycatching. There are 99 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • African Blue-Flycatcher
    African Blue-flycatcher
    The African Blue-flycatcher is a species of bird in the Stenostiridae family.-Distribution:It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,...

     Elminia longicauda
  • African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis

Babblers

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Timaliidae

The babblers or timaliids are somewhat diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. There are 270 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Fulvous Chatterer Turdoides fulvus
  • Brown Babbler
    Brown Babbler
    The Brown Babbler is a species of bird in the Timaliidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra...

     Turdoides plebejus

Chickadees and titmice

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Paridae

The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects. There are species 59 worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • White-shouldered Black-Tit Melaniparus guineensis

Penduline tits

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Remizidae

The penduline tits are a group of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. They are insectivores. There are 13 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Sennar Penduline-Tit
    Sennar Penduline-tit
    The Sennar Penduline-tit is a species of bird in the Remizidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan....

     Anthoscopus punctifrons
  • Yellow Penduline-Tit
    Yellow Penduline-tit
    The Yellow Penduline-tit is a species of bird in the Remizidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Togo.Its natural habitat is dry...

     Anthoscopus parvulus

Sunbirds and Spiderhunters

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Nectariniidae

The sunbirds and spiderhunters are very small passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed. There are 131 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Pygmy Sunbird
    Pygmy Sunbird
    The Pygmy Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra...

     Hedydipna platura
  • Scarlet-chested Sunbird
    Scarlet-chested Sunbird
    The Scarlet-chested Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya,...

     Chalcomitra senegalensis
  • Beautiful Sunbird
    Beautiful Sunbird
    The Beautiful Sunbird, Cinnyris pulchella , is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings...

     Cinnyris pulchellus
  • Copper Sunbird
    Copper Sunbird
    The Copper Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,...

     Cinnyris cupreus

White-eyes

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Zosteropidae

The white-eyes are small and are mostly of undistinguished appearance, the plumage above being generally either some dull color like greenish olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast or lower parts, and several have buff flanks. As their name suggests many species have a white ring around the eyes. There are 96 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • African Yellow White-eye
    African Yellow White-eye
    The African Yellow White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.-Taxonomy:The taxa stenocricotus from Central Africa and kirki from the Comoros, by most authorities considered subspecies of the African Yellow White-eye, are occasionally considered separate species, the Cameroon Green...

     Zosterops senegalensis

Old World orioles

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Oriolidae

The Old World Orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the New World orioles. There are 29 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus
  • African Golden Oriole
    African Golden Oriole
    The African Golden Oriole is a member of the oriole family of passerine birds which is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara....

     Oriolus auratus

Shrikes

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey. There are 31 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Red-backed Shrike
    Red-backed Shrike
    The Red-backed Shrike is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae.English common names include 'Wariangle' and 'worrier'.-Description:...

     Lanius collurio
  • Rufous-tailed Shrike Lanius isabellinus
  • Southern Gray Shrike Lanius meridionalis
  • Lesser Gray Shrike Lanius minor
  • Gray-backed Fiscal Lanius excubitoroides
  • Common Fiscal
    Common Fiscal
    The Common Fiscal is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also sometimes named Fiscal Shrike, as well as Jackie Hangman or Butcher Bird due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption. It is sometimes split...

     Lanius collaris
  • Masked Shrike
    Masked Shrike
    The Masked Shrike, Lanius nubicus, is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in western Iran. It is a common species in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Syria...

     Lanius nubicus
  • Woodchat Shrike
    Woodchat Shrike
    The Woodchat Shrike is a member of the shrike family Laniidae.The Woodchat breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees and some bare or sandy ground.This migratory medium-sized...

     Lanius senator
  • Yellow-billed Shrike
    Yellow-billed Shrike
    The Yellow-billed Shrike is a small passerine bird in the shrike family. It is sometimes known as Long-tailed Shrike but this is to be discouraged since it invites confusion with the Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach, of tropical southern Asia.The Yellow-billed Shrike is a common resident breeding...

     Corvinella corvina

Bushshrikes and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Malaconotidae

Bushshrikes are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be either colourful species or largely black; some species are quite secretive. There are 46 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Brubru
    Brubru
    The Brubru is a member of the bushshrike family found in much of sub-Saharan Africa apart from the western rainforests and southern South Africa. It is the only member of the genus Nilaus.-Distribution and habitat:...

     Nilaus afer
  • Northern Puffback
    Northern Puffback
    The Northern Puffback is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,...

     Dryoscopus gambensis
  • Black-crowned Tchagra
    Black-crowned Tchagra
    The Black-crowned Tchagra is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group....

     Tchagra senegala
  • Common Gonolek Laniarius barbarus

Helmetshrikes

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Prionopidae

The helmetshrikes are similar in build to the shrikes, but tend to be colourful species with distinctive crests or other head ornaments, such as wattles, from which they get their name. There are 12 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • White Helmetshrike
    White Helmetshrike
    The White-crested Helmetshrike , also known as the White Helmetshrike, is a species of passerine bird in the helmetshrike family Prionopidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae.-Distribution and habitat:...

     Prionops plumatus

Drongos

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Dicruridae

The drongos are mostly are black or dark grey in colour, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long forked tails, and some Asian species have elaborate tail decorations. They have short legs and sit very upright whilst perched, like a shrike. They flycatch or take prey from the ground. There are 24 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Mauritania.
  • Fork-tailed Drongo
    Fork-tailed Drongo
    The Fork-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus adsimilis, also called the Common Drongo, African Drongo or Savanna Drongo, is a drongo, a type of small passerine bird of the Old World tropics. The species was earlier considered to cover Asia, but the Asian species is now called the Black Drongo...

     Dicrurus adsimilis

Crows, jays, ravens and magpies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...



The Corvidae family includes crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s, raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

s, jay
Jay
The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

s, chough
Chough
The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...

s, magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...

s, treepie
Treepie
The treepies comprise four closely related genera of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae...

s, nutcracker
Nutcracker (bird)
The nutcrackers are a genus of two species of passerine bird, in the family Corvidae, related to the jays and crows. One, the Spotted Nutcracker , occurs in Europe and Asia, the other, Clark's Nutcracker , in western North America.The most important food resources for both these species are the...

s, and ground jay
Ground jay
The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae...

s. Corvids are above average in size for the bird order Passeriformes. Some of the larger species show high levels of learning behavior. There are 120 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Eurasian Magpie Pica pica
  • Piapiac
    Piapiac
    The Piapiac is a member of the crow family, and is the only member of the genus Ptilostomus. According to recent findings, it is most closely related to the Central Asian ground jays .-Description:...

     Ptilostomus afer
  • Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula
  • Pied Crow
    Pied Crow
    The Pied Crow is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus.Structurally, the Pied Crow is better thought of as a small crow-sized Raven, especially as it can hybridise with the Somali Crow where their ranges meet in the Horn of Africa...

     Corvus albus
  • Brown-necked Raven
    Brown-necked Raven
    The Brown-necked Raven is a larger bird than the Carrion Crow though not as large as the Common Raven. It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and the wings tend to be a little more pointed in profile...

     Corvus ruficollis

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. There are 125 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • European Starling
    European Starling
    The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...

     Sturnus vulgaris
  • Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling
    Greater Blue-eared Glossy-starling
    The Greater Blue-eared Glossy-starling or Greater Blue-eared Starling is a bird that breeds from Senegal east to Ethiopia and south through eastern Africa to northeastern South Africa and Angola...

     Lamprotornis chalybaeus
  • Purple Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis purpureus
  • Long-tailed Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis caudatus
  • Chestnut-bellied Starling
    Chestnut-bellied Starling
    The Chestnut-bellied Starling is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Togo.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. ....

     Lamprotornis pulcher
  • Violet-backed Starling
    Violet-backed Starling
    The Violet-backed Starling , also known as the Plum-coloured Starling or Amethyst Starling, is a relatively small species of starling in the Sturnidae family. This strongly sexually dimorphic species is found widely in woodland of mainland sub-Saharan Africa.-References:* BirdLife International 2004....

     Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
  • Neumann's Starling
    Neumann's Starling
    Neumann's Starling, or Neumann's Red-winged Starling Onychognathus neumanni, is a bird native to Africa. This starling breeds on rocky cliffs, outcrops and gorges mainly in the Sahel from Mauretania and Equatorial Guinea to western Sudan...

     Onychognathus neumanni
  • Yellow-billed Oxpecker
    Yellow-billed Oxpecker
    The Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Buphagus africanus, is a passerine bird in the starling and myna family Sturnidae; some ornithologists regard the Oxpeckers to be a separate family, the Buphagidae . It is native to the savannah of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Sudan...

     Buphagus africanus

Weavers and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Ploceidae

The weavers are small passerine birds related to the finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es. They are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. There are 116 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • White-billed Buffalo-Weaver
    White-billed Buffalo-weaver
    The White-billed Buffalo Weaver is a resident breeding bird species in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert....

     Bubalornis albirostris
  • Speckle-fronted Weaver
    Speckle-fronted Weaver
    The Speckle-fronted Weaver is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural...

     Sporopipes frontalis
  • Little Weaver
    Little Weaver
    The Little Weaver is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan,...

     Ploceus luteolus
  • Heuglin's Masked-Weaver
    Heuglin's Masked-weaver
    The Heuglin's Masked Weaver is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.-References:* BirdLife...

     Ploceus heuglini
  • Vitelline Masked-Weaver
    Vitelline Masked-weaver
    The Vitelline Masked Weaver is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe,...

     Ploceus vitellinus
  • Village Weaver
    Village Weaver
    The Village Weaver , also known as the Spotted-backed Weaver or Black-headed Weaver , is a species of bird found in much of sub-Saharan Africa...

     Ploceus cucullatus
  • Black-headed Weaver
    Black-headed Weaver
    The Black-headed Weaver , also known as the Yellow-backed Weaver, is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in savanna and similar habitats, typically near water, in West, Central and East Africa. It has also been introduced to Spain and Portugal.-References:* BirdLife International...

     Ploceus melanocephalus
  • Red-billed Quelea
    Red-billed Quelea
    The Red-billed Quelea is the world's most abundant wild bird species, with an estimated adult breeding population of 1.5 billion pairs. Some estimates of the overall population have been as large as 10 billion...

     Quelea quelea
  • Yellow-crowned Bishop
    Yellow-crowned Bishop
    The Yellow-crowned Bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown...

     Euplectes afer
  • Black-winged Bishop Euplectes hordeaceus
  • Orange Bishop Euplectes franciscanus

Waxbills and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Estrildidae

The estrildid finch
Estrildid finch
The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....

es are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

. They are gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have a wide variation in plumage colours and pattern. There are 141 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Green-winged Pytilia
    Green-winged Pytilia
    The Green-winged Pytilia is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of .It is found in most of Africa south of the Sahara...

     Pytilia melba
  • Red-billed Firefinch
    Red-billed Firefinch
    The Red-billed Firefinch or Senegal Firefinch is a very small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in almost all parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km²...

     Lagonosticta senegala
  • Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus
  • Orange-cheeked Waxbill
    Orange-Cheeked Waxbill
    The Orange-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda melpoda is a common species of estrildid finch native to western and central Africa, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,600,000 km².-Lifestyle:...

     Estrilda melpoda
  • Black-rumped Waxbill
    Black-rumped Waxbill
    The Black-rumped Waxbill is a common species of estrildid finch found in Southern Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 2,000,000 km²....

     Estrilda troglodytes
  • African Silverbill
    African Silverbill
    The African Silverbill is a small passerine bird formerly considered conspecific with the Asian species Indian Silverbill, . This estrildid finch is a common resident breeding bird in dry savanna habitat, south of the Sahara Desert...

     Euodice cantans
  • Cut-throat
    Cut-throat Finch
    The Cut-throat Finch Amadina fasciata is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa and originated in Africa, also known as the Bearded Finch, the Ribbon Finch, the Cut Throat, or the Weaver Finch....

     Amadina fasciata

Indigobirds

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Viduidae

The indigobirds are finch-like species which usually have black or indigo predominating in their plumage. All are brood parasites, which lay their eggs in the nests of estrildid finch species. There are 20 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Village Indigobird
    Village Indigobird
    The Village Indigobird, Vidua chalybeata, is a small songbird. It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert....

     Vidua chalybeata
  • Pin-tailed Whydah
    Pin-tailed Whydah
    The Pin-tailed Whydah, Vidua macroura, is a small songbird. It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.This whydah is found in many open habitats including open woodland, scrub and cultivation....

     Vidua macroura
  • Northern Paradise-Whydah
    Northern Paradise-Whydah
    The Sahel Paradise Whydah or Northern Paradise Whydah, Vidua orientalis, is a small songbird. It is a resident breeding bird in west Africa....

     Vidua orientalis

Buntings, sparrows, seedeaters and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Emberizidae
Emberizidae
The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...



The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as Sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns. There are species 275 worldwide and 6 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Ortolan Bunting
    Ortolan Bunting
    The Ortolan, or Ortolan Bunting, Emberiza hortulana, is a bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a passerine family now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...

     Emberiza hortulana
  • House Bunting
    House Bunting
    The House Bunting, Emberiza sahari, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.It is a resident breeder of dry country from northwestern Africa from Morocco south to Mali and east to Chad. The House Bunting breeds around human habitation, laying 2–4 eggs in a nest in a hole in a wall or...

     Emberiza striolata
  • Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
    Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
    The Cinnamon-breasted Bunting is a species of bird in the Emberizidae family. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon,...

     Emberiza tahapisi
  • Golden-breasted Bunting
    Golden-breasted Bunting
    The Golden-breasted Bunting, Emberiza flaviventris, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It occurs in dry open woodlands in Africa south of the Sahara, but is absent from the equatorial forest belt.There are three subspecies:...

     Emberiza flaviventris
  • Brown-rumped Bunting
    Brown-rumped Bunting
    The Brown-rumped Bunting is a species of bird in the Emberizidae family.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,...

     Emberiza affinis
  • Corn Bunting
    Corn Bunting
    The Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...

     Emberiza calandra

Siskins, crossbills and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Fringillidae

Finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have 12 tail feathers and 9 primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. There are 137 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • Chaffinch
    Chaffinch
    The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...

     Fringilla coelebs
  • Brambling
    Brambling
    The Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Etymology :The common English name is probably derived from the German "brâma", meaning bramble or a thorny bush. It has also been called the Cock o' the North and the Mountain Finch.- Description...

     Fringilla montifringilla
  • European Greenfinch
    European Greenfinch
    The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The genus Carduelis might be split up and in this case, the greenfinches would be separated in their old genus Chloris again.This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north...

     Carduelis chloris
  • Eurasian Linnet Carduelis cannabina
  • White-rumped Seedeater
    White-rumped Seedeater
    The White-Rumped Seedeater is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family.It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, and the United...

     Serinus leucopygius
  • Yellow-fronted Canary
    Yellow-fronted Canary
    The Yellow-fronted Canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is known elsewhere and in aviculture as the Green Singing Finch....

     Serinus mozambicus
  • Trumpeter Finch
    Trumpeter Finch
    The Trumpeter Finch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in the Canary Islands, across north Africa, and in the Middle East and into central Asia. There is a small European population in southern Spain...

     Bucanetes githaginea

Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Passeridae

Sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

s are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and they also consume small insects. There are 35 species worldwide and 7 species which occur in Mauritania.
  • House Sparrow
    House Sparrow
    The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...

     Passer domesticus (I)
  • Spanish Sparrow
    Spanish Sparrow
    The Spanish Sparrow or Willow Sparrow is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and southwest and central Asia...

     Passer hispaniolensis
  • Gray-headed Sparrow Passer griseus
  • Desert Sparrow
    Desert Sparrow
    The Desert Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in desert and sandy areas of northern and central Africa, with a distinct subspecies in areas of Iran, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan sometimes called the Asian Desert Sparrow or Zarudny's Sparrow .The Desert Sparrow is not...

     Passer simplex
  • Sudan Golden-Sparrow Passer luteus
  • Yellow-spotted Petronia
    Yellow-spotted Petronia
    The Yellow-spotted Petronia is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland....

     Petronia pyrgita
  • Bush Petronia
    Bush Petronia
    The Bush Petronia is a species of bird in the Passeridae family. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, and Yemen...

    Petronia dentata

External links

  • Birds of Mauritania Birdlist, multi-lingual website by country with standardized codes for abundance and seasonal presence.
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