Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Jbel Moussa is the southern of the two Pillars of Hercules, situated opposite the Rock of Gibraltar on the African side of the Straits of Gibraltar, at the narrow 15-km-wide western entrance to the Mediterranean. A karstic limestone massif, rising steeply from sea-level to 841 m, the site covers some 4,000 ha and includes the small island of Leila, several rocky headlands and bays and the sandy beach of Ras Ciress. The terrestrial vegetation consists of
Pinus and
Quercus woodland. Annual rainfall averages 1,000 mm. Human activities include fishing, agriculture and tourism.
See Box for key species. The site’s principal importance is as a migration bottleneck. Jbel Moussa provides uplifting air currents that are particularly sought out by migrating raptors and soaring species. Huge numbers of European migrants have been recorded passing through, including (per season) more than 90,000
Ciconia ciconia and
C. nigra, up to 150,000
Pernis apivorus, 50,000
Milvus migrans and several thousand
Hieraaetus pennatus,
Circaetus gallicus and
Neophron percnopterus. One
Aquila adalberti was seen passing through in September 1993, and the species is undoubtedly a regular migrant in small numbers. Many migrating passerines and waders also transit the site, including
Larus audouinii, which is a regular migrant along the coast between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.Over 100 species have been recorded in total, of which 50 are known to breed, including four species of the Mediterranean North Africa biome (see Table 2). A colony of
Larus cachinnans nests on the island of Leila.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is a priority 1 SIBE (No. L9). The offshore nesting colony of
Larus cachinnans is threatened by egg-collecting and the presence of free-ranging goats which are destroying the vegetation. Overall, the site is threatened by unregulated camping, scuba-diving and the tipping of rubbish at Ras Léona. It is recommended that conservation measures, including an integrated management plan incorporating ecotourism and a migratory bird observatory, be developed.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jbel Moussa (Morocco). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jbel-moussa-iba-morocco on 16/01/2025.
