Few countries in the Mediterranean region can match the variety and quality of the wildlife habitats to be found in Morocco. The three bands of mountains – Rif, Middle Atlas and High Atlas – with the Mediterranean coastal strip to the north, and the desert to the south, provide a wide variety of habitat types, from coastal cliffs, sand dunes and estuarine marshlands to subalpine forests and grasslands, to the semi-arid Sahel and true desert areas of the south. The climate is similarly diverse: warm and humid along the coastal zones, relatively cooler at altitude within the Atlas ranges and distinctly hotter and drier south of the High Atlas. Not surprisingly, the plant and animal life in Morocco is accordingly parochial, species distributions being closely related to the habitat and climate types to which they are adapted.
In addition to a unique range of resident bird species, distributed throughout the country on the basis of vegetation and climatic zonation, the periods of late March/April and September/October provide the additional sight of vast bird migrations.
Large numbers of birds which have overwintered south of the Sahara migrate northwards in the spring to breed in Europe, completing their return passage through Morocco in the autumn, and some north European species choose Morocco to avoid the harshness of the northern winter. These movements can form a dramatic spectacle in the skies, dense flocks of birds moving in procession through bottleneck areas such as Tangier and Ceuta where sea crossings are at their shortest.
Among field guides to Moroccan birdlife, the definitive tome – though not easy to find – is Michael Thévenot, Rae Vernon and Patrick Bergier’s The Birds of Morocco (British Ornithologists’ Union, UK), while Patrick and Fédora Bergier’s A Birdwatcher’s Guide to Morocco (Prion Press, UK) is an excellent practical guidebook that includes site maps and species lists. Dave Gosney’s two Finding Birds in Morocco booklets (Easybirder, UK) – one on the desert, the other on coastal and mountain sites – contains much detailed information on where to spot different birds, complete with maps and GPS co-ordinates, but unless you can recognize the species yourself, it would need to be used in conjunction with a field guide.
Coastal and marine species include the familiar moorhen and less familiar crested coot, an incongruous bird which, when breeding, resembles its northern European relation but with an additional pair of bright red knobs on either side of its white facial shield. Other species include the diminutive little ringed plover and rock dove.
South of the High Atlas are desert species, such as the sandgrouse (spotted, crowned, pin-tailed and black-bellied varieties), stone curlew, cream-coloured courser and Houbara bustard – the latter standing over two feet in height. Other well-represented groups include wheatears (four varieties), larks (seven varieties) and finches, buntings, warblers, corvids, jays, magpies, choughs and ravens (crow family), tits (primarily blue, great and coal) and owls (barn, eagle, tawny and little).
Raptors (birds of prey) provide an enticing roll call of resident species, including red- and black-shouldered kite, long-legged buzzard, Bonelli’s, golden and tawny eagles, Barbary, lanner and peregrine falcons and the more familiar kestrel.
Features on key Moroccan wildlife, and especially bird habitats are to be found throughout the Guide. They include:
Agadir/Oued Souss Riverbank that attracts waders and wildfowl, migrant warblers and Barbary partridge.
Aguelmane Azigza Middle Atlas occasional inland lake and forest: hawfinch, diving duck and marbled teal in autumn/winter.
Boulmane: Desert Hammada Atlas agama and fringe-toed lizard; specialist bird species such as cream-coloured courser, red-rumped wheatear and thick-billed lark; houbara bustard.
Cedar forests south of Azrou Species include green-eyed lizard and chameleon; butterflies from April onwards; Barbary apes; Moroccan woodpecker and booted eagle.
Dayet Aaoua Another Middle Atlas occasional lake: flocks of grebes, crested coot, grey heron and cattle egret; migrant birds of prey include red kite.
Essaouira Coastal dunes, river and offshore islands attract waders and egrets; also Eleonora’s Falcon between May and October.
Fez Evening roost of egret and alpine swift; white stork on rooftop nests of walls.
Jebel Tazzeka National Park Where the Rif merges with the Middle Atlas: slopes covered in cork oak and woodland; butterflies from late May/early June, and birds such as the hoopoe.
Jebel Toubkal National Park High Atlas mountains: sights include Moorish gecko, rare butterflies; Moussier’s redstart and crimson-winged finch, both unique to North African mountains; hooped-petticoat daffodils, romulea and various other bulbs in spring.
Merja Zerga Large wetland area that guarantees good bird numbers at all times of year, especially gulls and terns (including the Caspian tern).
Merzouga Sandy (or “true”) desert: all-too-brief spring bloom of pink asphodels and mauve statice; Algerian sand lizard and Berber skink; birds include fulvous babbler, blue-cheeked bee-eater, the rare desert sparrow and even Arabian bustard.
Nador/Kariet Arkmane/Ras el Ma Salt marshes and coastal sand dunes, good for waders and gulls.
Oualidia Mix of ragged, rocky coast, sands, lagoon, marshes and saltpans. Good for small waders.
Oued Massa Important inland lagoon and reserve that is perhaps the country’s number one bird habitat.
Oued Moulouya Lagoons and sand spits, with outstanding birds.
Todra Gorge Marsh frog and green toad; ground squirrel; common bulbul, black wheatear, blue rock thrush and rock dove. Bonelli’s eagles nest in the gorge.
Summer visitors include, among marine and coastal types, Manx shearwater, Eleonora’s falcon and the bald ibis – for whom Tamri has one of its few remaining breeding colonies in the world. Mountain species include the small Egyptian vulture and several of the hirundines (swallows and martins) and their close relatives, the swifts, such as little swift, red-rumped swallow and the more familiar house martin. A particularly colourful summer visitor in the Sahel regions is the blue-cheeked bee-eater, a vibrant blend of red, yellow, blue and green, unmistakeable if seen close up.
The list of winter visitors is more extensive but composed primarily of marine or coastal species. The most common of the truly marine (pelagic) flocks include Cory’s shearwater, storm petrel, gannet, razorbill and puffin. These are often found congregated on the sea surface, along with any combination of skuas (great, arctic and pomarine varieties), terns (predominantly sandwich) and gulls (including black-headed, Mediterranean, little, herring and the rarer Audouin’s) flying overhead. A variety of coastal and estuarine species also arrive during this period, forming large mixed flocks of grebes (great-crested, little and black-necked), avocet, cattle egret, spoonbill, greater flamingo, and wildfowl such as shelduck, wigeon, teal, pintail, shoveler, tufted duck, pochard and coot. Migrant birds of prey during the winter months include the common buzzard (actually a rarity in Morocco), dashing merlin and both marsh and hen harriers.
Many passage migrants pass through Morocco en route to other areas. Well-represented groups include petrels (five varieties) and terns (six varieties) along coastal areas, and herons (four varieties), bitterns, cranes, white and black stork and crake (spotted, little, Baillon’s and corncrake) in the marshland/estuarine habitats. Further inland, flocks of multicoloured roller, bee-eater and hoopoe mix with various larks, wagtails and warblers (thirteen varieties), forming large “windfall” flocks when climatic conditions worsen abruptly. Individual species of note include the aptly named black-winged stilt, an elegant black and white wader, with long, vibrant red legs, often found among the disused saltpans; and the nocturnal nightjars (both common and red-necked), which are most easily seen by the reflection of their eyes in the headlamps of passing cars. Birds of prey can also form dense passage flocks, often mixed and including large numbers of black kite, short-toed eagle and honey buzzard. Over open-water spaces, the majestic osprey may be seen demonstrating its mastery of the art of fishing.
Finally, Morocco has its share of occasional or “vagrant” species, so classified on the unusual or rare nature of their appearances, including such exotic varieties as glossy ibis, pale-chanting goshawk, Arabian bustard and lappet-faced vulture, but they provide few, if any, opportunities for viewing.
Morocco’s few remaining amphibians are restricted to scarce watery havens, and are more apparent by sound than sight. One of the more common is the green frog, typically immersed up to its eyes in water, releasing the odd giveaway croak. Toads are represented by the Berber toad, another nocturnal baritone, and the Mauritanian toad whose large size and characteristic yellow-and-brown-spotted colouration make it quite unmistakeable. The painted frog is a common participant in the chorus that emanates from the oueds (creeks) of the High Atlas, while the wide-ranging whistle of the North African race of the green toad, famed for its ability to change its colour with the surrounding environment, can be heard at altitudes in excess of 2000m.
Reptiles extend from the Mediterranean to the desert. Tortoises are now sadly depleted through “craft items” sold to the tourist trade. The blue and green-eyed lizard and the chameleon frequent the Middle Atlas, while the Spanish wall lizard is a common basker on the stony walls of towns and villages, as is the Moorish gecko.
Further south, the drier, scrub-covered slopes form an ideal habitat for the horseshoe snake (which can exceed 2m in length) and the Montpelier snake, which feeds on birds and rats, as well as the Atlas agama and fringe-toed lizard.
Desert species include the Algerian sand lizard and the Berber skink, also known as the “sand fish”, which inhabits the ergs and appears to “swim” through the sand. Morocco’s one really poisonous reptile is the horned viper, only half a metre in length, which spends its days buried just below the surface of the sand and feeds by night on jerboas and lizards.
Larger animal life in Morocco is dominated by the extensive nomadic herds of goats, sheep and camels which use the most inaccessible and barren patches of wilderness as seasonal grazing areas. One of the most impressive of the wild mammals, however, is the Barbary ape – not really an ape in fact, but a macaque monkey. These frequent the cedar forests south of Azrou in the Middle Atlas and can be seen on the ground foraging for food in the glades. Other inhabitants of the cedar forest include wild boar and red fox. A speciality of the Oued Souss, outside Agadir, is the common otter; this is now a rare species in Morocco and can only be seen with considerable patience and some good fortune.
The majority of the smaller mammals in Morocco live south of the Atlas ranges in the hammada, where the ever-present problem of water conservation plays a major role in the lifestyle of its inhabitants. Larger herbivores include the Edmi gazelle and the smaller, and rarer, Addax antelope, which graze the thorn bushes and dried grasses to obtain their moisture. Many of the desert varieties reduce the problems of body temperature regulation by adopting a nocturnal lifestyle. Typical exponents of this strategy are the desert hedgehog and numerous small rodents such as the jerboa. A common predator of the jerboa is the fennec (desert fox), whose characteristic large ears are used for both directional hearing (invaluable as a nocturnal hunter) and heat radiation to aid body cooling.
An oddity, found in the Jebel Toubkal area of the High Atlas, is the African elephant shrew – a fascinating, mouse-like creature with an elephantine trunk.
Over a hundred species of butterflies have been recorded, predominantly in the Middle and High Atlas ranges and are seen from April until September. The Atlas also witnesses one of the world’s most extraordinary butterfly migrations in spring, when waves of painted ladies and Bath whites pass through, having crossed the Sahara from West Africa, en route across the Bay of Biscay to the west of England. Other common groups include grasshoppers, crickets and locusts. In the High Atlas, praying mantis may be seen.
There are three main groups of arachnids in Morocco – scorpions, camel spiders and spiders. Scorpions are nocturnal, hiding under suitable covered depressions during the day such as rocks and boulders (or rucksacks and shoes). Some Moroccan species are poisonous but most are harmless and unlikely to sting unless provoked. Camel spiders (or wind-scorpions) lack a poisonous tail but possess huge jaws with which they catch their main source of prey – scorpions. In the Atlas it is possible to see several small species of tarantula (not the hairy South American variety) and the white orb-web spider Argiope lobata.
Morocco’s flora is remarkably diverse; the plants here vary enormously with the type of habitat, which ranges from Mediterranean lowlands through to harsher mountains and desert.
Plant species have adapted strategies to cope with the Moroccan climate, becoming either specifically adapted to one particular part of the environment (a habitat type), or evolving multiple structural and/or biochemical means of surviving the more demanding seasons. Others have adopted the proverbial “ostrich” philosophy of burying their heads (or rather their seeds in this case) in the sand and waiting for climatic conditions to become favourable – often an extremely patient process. Oleg Polunin and Anthony Huxley’s Flowers of the Mediterranean (Chatto & Windus, UK; out of print, but easy to find second hand) is the leading field guide.
The type of flowers that you see will obviously depend entirely on where and when you decide to visit. Some parts of the country have very short flowering seasons because of high temperatures or lack of available water, but generally the best times of year for flowering plants are either just before or just after the main temperature extremes of the North African summer. The very best time to visit is spring (late March to mid-May), when most flowers are in bloom. Typical spring flowers include purple barbary nut iris, deep blue germander and the aromatic claret thyme, all of which frequent the slopes of the Atlas ranges. Among the woodland flora at this time of year are the red pheasant’s eye, pink viburnum, violet calamint and purple campanula, which form a resplendent carpet beneath the cedar forests. By late spring, huge tracts of the High Atlas slopes are aglow with the golden hues of broom and, secluded among the lowland cereal crops, splashes of magenta reveal the presence of wild gladioli.
By midsummer the climate is at its most extreme and the main concern of plants is to avoid desiccation in the hot, arid conditions. Two areas of exception to these conditions are the Atlantic coastal zones, where sea mists produce a slightly more humid environment, and the upper reaches of the Atlas ranges, which remain cool and moist at altitude throughout the year. Spring comes later in these loftier places and one can find many of the more familiar garden rock plants, such as the saxifrages and anemones, in flower well into late July and August. Once the hottest part of the summer is past (September onwards), a second, autumn bloom begins with later varieties such as cyclamens and autumn crocus.
Seashores have a variety of sand-tolerant species, with their adaptations for coping with water loss, such as sea holly and sea stocks. The dune areas contrast starkly with the Salicornia-dominated salt marshes – monotonous landscapes broken only by the occasional dead tamarisk tree.
Arable land is often dominated by cereal crops – particularly in the more humid Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal belts – or olive and eucalyptus groves, which extend over large areas. On the coast around Essaouira and Agadir the indigenous argan tree is common. The general lack of use of herbicides allows the coexistence of many “wild flowers”, especially in the fallow hay meadows which are ablaze with the colours of wild poppy, ox-eye daisy, muscali (borage) and various yellow composites.
Lowland hills form a fascinating mosaic of dense, shrubby species, known as maquis, lower-lying, more grazed areas, known as garrigue, and more open areas with abundant aromatic herbs and shrubs. Maquis vegetation is dominated by cistaceae (rockroses) and the endemic argan tree. The lower-lying garrigue is more typically composed of aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme and golden milfoil. Among these shrubs, within the more open areas, you may find an abundance of other species such as anemones, grape hyacinths and orchids. The orchids are particularly outstanding, including several of the Ophrys group, which use the strategy of insect imitation to entice pollinators and as such have an intricate arrangement of flowers.
Flowering later in the year, the slopes of the Atlas ranges are dominated by the blue-mauve pitch trefoil and golden drifts of broom. As you travel south through the Middle Atlas, the verdant ash, oak, Atlantic cedar and juniper forest dominates the landscape. Watered by the depressions that sweep across from the Atlantic, these slopes form a luxurious spectacle, ablaze with colour in spring. Among the glades beneath the giant cedars of the Middle Atlas, a unique flora may be found, dominated by the vibrant pink peony. Other plants which form this spectacular carpet include geranium, anchusa, pink viburnum, saffron mulleins, mauve cupidanes, violet calamint, purple campanula, the diminutive scarlet dianthus and a wealth of golden composites and orchids.
Further south, in the High Atlas, the Toubkal National Park boasts its own varieties and spring bloom; the thyme and thorny caper are interspersed with the blue-mauve pit trefoil, pink convulvulus, the silver-blue and pinks of everlasting flowers of cupidane and phagnalon and golden spreads of broom. At the highest altitudes, the limestone Atlas slopes form a bleak environment, either covered by winter snows or scorched by the summer sun. However, some species are capable of surviving even under these conditions, the most conspicuous of these being the widespread purple tussocks of the hedgehog broom.
In the steppe land south of the Atlas, temperatures rise sharply and the effect on flora is dramatic; the extensive cedar forests and their multicoloured carpets are replaced by sparse grass plains where the horizon is broken only by the occasional stunted holm oak, juniper or acacia. Commonly known as wattle trees, the acacia were introduced into North Africa from Australia and their large yellow flowers add a welcome splash of colour to this barren landscape. One of the few crop plants grown in this area is the date palm, which is particularly resistant to drought. The steppe land is characterized by the presence of esparto (halfa) grass, which exudes toxins to prevent the growth of competing species. These halfa grass plains are only broken by the flowering of broom in May. Within rocky outcrops, this spring bloom can become a mini-explosion of colour, blending the hues of cistus and chrysanthemum with the pink of rockrose, yellow of milfoil and mauve of rosemary.
Even desert areas provide short-lived blooms of colour during the infrequent spring showers; dwarf varieties such as pink asphodels, yellow daisies and mauve statice thrive briefly while conditions are favourable. Under the flat stones of the hammada (stony desert), colonies of lichens and microscopic algae eke out an existence; their shade tolerance and ability to obtain sufficient water from the occasional condensation which takes place under these stones allows them to survive in this harshest of environments. No matter how inhospitable the environment or extreme the climate, somewhere, somehow, there are plants surviving – if you take time to look for them.