Van den Berg & The Sound Approach, 2020. Morocco: sharing the birds. A Sound Approach guide to the birds of the Maghreb, The Sound Approach, Poole, 308 p. ISBN 978 90 810 933 9 2, € 54.95.
In recent years, several quality works have been devoted to the avifauna of the Maghreb in general and Morocco in particular. The Ornithology Group of Morocco published an identification guide in 2010 (Ibis Press, Paris). This guide was preceded by the excellent The Birds of Morocco by Thévenot, Vernon & Bergier (BOU, 2003). Patrick Bergier, Michel Thévenot and Abdeljebbar Qninba also regaled us with very detailed data concerning the observations in Oiseaux du Sahara Atlantique Marocain (SEOF, 2017). In 2011 and 2018, Dave Gosney published, on his own account, two small booklets dealing with birds observable in desert and mountain environments. Equipped with all this material, it was already possible to locate most of the species and recognise them with binoculars. This new title presents the avifauna of Morocco from another angle by bringing together the songs of birds present in the Maghreb region. Arnoud B. van den Berg and the Sound Approach team wanted to share their birding experiences in the Maghreb with the new generation of Moroccan ornithologists and bird watchers visiting the region. The Sound Approach posts are trickle down, but they are still very polished and unique in their genre. This new title from the Sound Approach team is simply overflowing with bird vocalisations recorded in the Maghreb region. A.B. van den Berg first discovered Morocco in 1973 and since 1987 he has visited it regularly. In this book, no less than 321 sound recordings, 100 sonograms, two colour plates by Killian Mullarney illustrating Seebohm’s Wheatear and Dunn’s Lark and 161 colour photographs have been collected. The USB stick, compatible for iPhone and Android phones, includes all 321 records from the book, as well as a “Guide to Key Maghreb Bird Species” including 573 records from 141 species. In the introduction, van den Berg describes his first visits and underlines the strategic importance of Morocco for migration between Europe and Africa. The Dutch ornithologist did not fail to mention the dangers that threaten migratory birds. The sixteen chapters that follow are entirely devoted to the different species and their songs. Some of them are threatened with extinction, such as the Slender-billed Curlew, the Bald Ibis, the Houbara Bustard and the Andalusian Hemipodes. The book also presents new sound identification criteria for Maghreb species such as the Cricket Warbler, the chaffinches (spodiogenys, coelebs and africana) and the Desert Sparrow. There is no denying that this is an awesome book, full of useful information, it is a beautifully illustrated book that will appeal to any bird watcher. As well for those who will go in search of rare species as for those who are interested in lived stories. A.B. van den Berg enriched the book with his colourful stories and anecdotes describing his adventures in search of typical Maghrebian species.
Walter Belis
(Translated by Google translate January 2021)