African blue tit
Cyanistes teneriffae
31.0687, -7.93452
Field Notes
Description:
This is a small and compact tit, about 10-12 cm in length. It looks like a darker version of Eurasian blue tit (C. caeruleus) - indeed, it was earlier considered conspecific with it. Where the Eurasian one is light blue, the African blue tit is dark blue or ultramarine blue; to the point that the crown almost appears black in my pics...
Habitat:
Quite limited in distribution, populations of African blue tit are found in northern tip of the continent, and some islands in Mediterranean sea. Here, during our stay in Morocco, I saw it only, in haste, at the outskirts of a village in Imlil area, in Atlas mountain range. These villages are located in protected area of NP J'bel Toubkal (or on borders - I did not fully catch the story of the National Park...), on steep bushy slopes of Atlas mountains, and surrounded by mediterranean type of forests. During our short ascending walk, I also observed Coal and Great tits.
Notes:
I apologize for the low quality of shots - there were shot in haste, from a distance while this beauty was hanging in the shadow. I kept and published them mainly because for me, this beauty was a lifer...
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