A Moussier’s Redstart, Phoenicurus moussieri, perched on a cactus in the Ourika Valley in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco, about 30km from Marrakesh.
This beautiful bird is high on many birders’ wishlist, and it was certainly top of my hoped-for birds on my trip to Morocco, so I was delighted to have been able to make this image on Day 2! Moussier’s Redstarts are found in North-West Africa – from Morocco, through northern Algeria and Tunisia to north-eastern Libya. It has been recorded once in the UK as a vagrant, but is increasingly being noted in southern Andalucia, where it may breed soon. It was named after Jean Moussier, who was a surgeon in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars as well as being an enthusiastic amateur naturalist.
This photo is copyright © Liz Leyden. All rights strictly as agreed in writing with the author or her agent.
My photo of a Moussier’s Redstart is available for purchase as a stock photo from iStock, from where a vertical sister photo is also available.
A third sister photo is for sale as wall art or as various home or personal accessories at Pixels.com.
