Abstract

This pioneering work is the first to document the aquatic avifauna community of the Wadi Djedi in the Ziban region in southeast of Algeria. We present results obtained through the monthly counts of waterbirds conducted from September 2013 to September 2016. On this wetland we recorded 36 species of water birds representing 11 families. The Anatidae family was the most numerous, with 11 species. From among all the species, 18 were wintering species, nine were visitors, eight were sedentary breeding species (including the ruddy shelduck Tadorna furruginea and Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrines) and one species was migratory nesting (the white stork Ciconia ciconia). Two species (the teal marbled Marmaronetta angustirostris and ferruginous duck Aythya nyroca) are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of endangered species.

Highlights

  • North Africa has a great variety of wetlands that are wintering and stopover sites for several Palearctic migratory birds (Fishpool and Evans, 2001)

  • In the Algerian Sahara, waterbirds are relatively well known due to data collected by several ornithologists in the past (Heim de Balsac and Mayaud 1962; Ledant et al, 1981; Isenmann and Moali, 2000)

  • The Ziban oasis is located in the east of Algeria, south of the Aurès Mountains (5o 44' 00'' N, 35o 51' 00'' E)

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Summary

Introduction

North Africa has a great variety of wetlands that are wintering and stopover sites for several Palearctic migratory birds (Fishpool and Evans, 2001). Algeria contains a wide variety of wetlands that are major staging posts and wintering grounds for migrating birds (Stevenson et al, 1988). In the Algerian Sahara, waterbirds are relatively well known due to data collected by several ornithologists in the past (Heim de Balsac and Mayaud 1962; Ledant et al, 1981; Isenmann and Moali, 2000). These early works were based on observations recorded intermittently in a few wetlands. Most ecological studies of the aquatic avifauna of the Saharan wetlands in the Oued Righ valley consist of ecological monitoring of wintering and breeding populations

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