Its population seems to be in decline and a s few as 200 pairs are thought to remain. The lagoons and cliffs near Tamri are probably the most reliable spots to look for this species. The brightly coloured kingfisher is a living jewel that fees on small fish and other aquatic animals. The roller is another colourful member of this family, and the bizarre, crested hoopoe is distinct in salmon pink plumage boldly. Every year hundreds of thousand of shorebirds pass via Morocco on their way to sub Saharan Africa, after flying for thousands of kilometres from their breeding grounds in Scandinavia Greenland and northern Russia.
Waders moult from striking summer plumage to rather nondescript winter plumage.
Many keen birders relish the challenge of identifying these drab winter plumages. With few exceptions waders are found near fresh and saline waterways, feeding along the shores or probing intertidal mud for worms. They include the long distance champions, the sandpipers and plovers, the lapwing and the odd stone curlew a lanky, cryptic nocturnal species with weird wailing cries. The gulls and tens are close relatives of the waders, although they look very different. Many species inhabit the coasts and breed on offshore islands or isolated sandbanks.