‘White’ whimbrel in Morocco

This video says about itself:

Whimbrel at The Lizard in Cornwall

The whimbrel is a large wading bird. It has longish legs and a long bill that curves near the tip. It is brownish above and whitish below. In flight, it shows a white ‘V’ shape up its back from its tail. In the UK, this species only breeds in north Scotland. It is a passage migrant to other areas in spring and autumn on its way from and to its wintering areas in South Africa. The Shetland and Orkney breeding population has been slowly increasing.

WHERE TO SEE THEM

You could see breeding birds on a visit to Shetland or Orkney in summer. Otherwise, passage migrants can be seen on the coast and sometimes inland in suitable habitat, when hearing its distinctive call can be the best clue to its presence.

WHEN TO SEE THEM

Mid-April to August

WHAT THEY EAT

On breeding grounds insects, snails and slugs; on passage, crabs, shrimps, molluscs, worms.

Filmed in May 2010 at The Lizard

Video Produced by Paul Dinning – Wildlife in Cornwall

From Moroccan Birds blog, with photos there:

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Leucistic Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) still at El Jadida since October 2014

Can a non-marked wader be relocated months after first sighting? Well, this is possible in some few cases including when the bird is leucistic and is alone in the region (so easily identifiable).

This is the case of a leucistic Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) photographed for the first time in the intertidal zone between El Jadida and Sidi Bouzid by Ruth García Gorria on 17 October 2014.

On 13 February 2015, Ruth [García Gorria] relocated the leucistic bird again and took the photographs below (click on the pictures for more details). Ruth also commented that “the plumage is much whiter now” (compare the pictures below with those taken in October 2014 by clicking the link above).

On the other hand, the partially leucistic Common Coot (Fulica atra) is always present in Sidi Moussa lagoon where it was first observed and photographed in October and November 2014 by Ruth.