Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) near Tétouan

A Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) was photographed by my friend Mohamed Larbi El Jebari in a marshland between El Malaliyine and Oued El Malah by his camera phone (some 8 Kilometres NE of Tétouan) on 8 January 2012. Imagine an unobtrusive bird photographed with a camera phone (that's also means that he was close to the bird), isn’t that a good experience?

In Morocco, Jack Snipe is a winter visitor and a passage migrant, but owing to its secretive behaviour it is rarely recorded by observers. According to Thévenot et al. (2003) there were only c. 75 winter sightings between the 1950 and early 2000s in the whole of Morocco; in the Tangier Peninsula, the species is even more occasional (at marshlands of Tahaddart estuary and Smir marshes). During the ringing programme carried out at Smir marshes, one bird was caught and ringed on 21 October 2004 (Amezian et al. 2006).

Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) near Oued El Maleh (Tétouan) on 8 January 2012. (Photo: M.L. El Jebari).

References:

Amezian M., Louah A., Rguibi Idrissi H., Thompson I., Banham R., Perez C., Cortes J. & Qninba A. (2006). Captures de quelques oiseaux peu communs ou rares dans les marais de Smir au nord du Maroc (automne 2004 – printemps 2005). Go-South Bull. 3: 10-14. PDF

Thévenot M., Vernon R. & Bergier P. (2003). The Birds of Morocco. BOU Checklist No. 20. British Ornithologists' Union & British Ornithologists' Club, Tring, UK.

Thanks to M. L. El Jebari for this excellent photo.

M.A.