From Morocco to Andalusia: cooperation opens a new opportunity to restore the Andalusian buttonquail

This new step towards the potential recovery in Spain of a species that disappeared from the Iberian Peninsula decades ago, and towards reinforcing its declining wild populations in Morocco, is also the result of growing cooperation between institutions and conservation specialists in Morocco and Spain, which IUCN has helped facilitate in recent years.

As part of the cooperation between Morocco’s National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and the Regional Government of Andalusia, particularly in the conservation of species threatened with extinction, a project for the conservation of the Andalusian buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus) was launched in 2026.

Field surveys carried out by a team of Moroccan and Spanish experts have made it possible to establish a group of captive-bred birds that can serve as breeding stock for the species. Some of these birds are being kept at Aïn Sebaâ Zoo in Casablanca, with the aim of helping reinforce the population found in the Oualidia region. A further 18 birds were transferred on 9 September to the Jerez Zoo and Botanical Garden Biodiversity Conservation Centre, where the ex situ breeding programme will begin, according to a press release issued by the Regional Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of the Regional Government of Andalusia.

Their arrival marks an important step in a process that, if the different planned phases are successful, could eventually allow the species to return to some of the areas of Andalusia where it historically occurred, while at the same time helping to strengthen its conservation in Morocco.

The Andalusian buttonquail, a subspecies native to the Mediterranean Basin, disappeared from the Iberian Peninsula and most of the Mediterranean region. Its last known population survives in a small area along Morocco’s Atlantic coast, mainly associated with traditional agricultural landscapes. This situation makes cooperation between the two countries particularly important for its conservation.

Building bridges to conserve threatened species

The arrival of the birds in Jerez is the result of scientific, technical and institutional work carried out by the administrations and organisations involved. It also illustrates the importance of the exchanges that have brought conservation specialists and decision-makers from Morocco and Spain closer together in recent years.

In November 2024, the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN Med) organised a visit to Andalusia by a Moroccan delegation led by representatives of Morocco’s National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), together with specialists in ecology, protected area management, ecotourism and veterinary science. Over several days, Moroccan and Spanish professionals exchanged experience on captive breeding, the reintroduction of threatened species and protected area management. The delegation visited the Jerez Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, the Migres Foundation’s International Bird Migration Centre in Tarifa, and the Strait of Gibraltar Marine Environment Management Centre in Algeciras.

The exchange provided an opportunity to learn from conservation programmes developed in Spain for species such as the northern bald ibis and the Iberian lynx, while also exploring how this experience could contribute to new conservation programmes in Morocco. Among the possibilities discussed were the breeding and reintroduction of the African serval, the conservation of sea turtles, and the management of threatened species and protected natural areas. The Andalusian buttonquail was one of the species at the heart of those discussions.

Less than two years later, 18 buttonquails from Morocco are now at the same centre in Jerez that hosted part of that exchange.

“The arrival of these birds in Jerez demonstrates the value of maintaining spaces for dialogue and cooperation between institutions and specialists on both shores of the Mediterranean. At IUCN Med, we have worked for years to facilitate these exchanges and connect conservation experience between Morocco and Spain. Seeing this cooperation now help open up a real possibility for the recovery of a species that disappeared from Spain is particularly significant,” says Maher Mahjoub, Director of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation.

From cooperation to action on the ground

According to the Regional Government of Andalusia, the 18 birds came from eggs recovered in Morocco and subsequently incubated until they hatched. After meeting the veterinary and administrative requirements for their international transfer, the birds arrived at the Port of Algeciras and were transported to Jerez.

A new stage now begins. The Jerez Zoo and Botanical Garden will develop an ex situ conservation programme aimed at establishing a sufficiently large and genetically diverse breeding group. The Regional Government of Andalusia also plans to carry out at least four further campaigns in Morocco over the coming years to help consolidate this assurance population.

“This is not only about bringing the Andalusian buttonquail back to Andalusia. The Moroccan population is also threatened, and working together allows us to better understand it, protect the habitats on which it depends and, in the future, reinforce it with birds bred at the two breeding centres. What is beginning now in Jerez will also benefit the remaining populations in Morocco,” explains Zouhair Amhaouch of Morocco’s National Agency for Water and Forests.

Conservation through cooperation

The project currently brings together the Regional Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of the Regional Government of Andalusia, the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the Government of Morocco, IUCN Med, the Jerez Zoo and Botanical Garden Biodiversity Conservation Centre, Jerez City Council, the Migres Foundation, the scientific and environmental consultancies Rifcon and AUSTROS, as well as other scientific and private-sector organisations.

For IUCN Med, facilitating dialogue among these actors is part of a broader effort to promote the exchange of conservation knowledge and experience among Mediterranean countries.

This cooperation is also supported by the IUCN membership network. All three public institutions, the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the Regional Government of Andalusia, and Morocco’s National Agency for Water and Forests, are IUCN Members. This shared membership facilitates direct contact between technical teams on both shores of the Mediterranean and enables them to work according to common scientific standards and criteria, while also drawing on the support of the IUCN Secretariat and Commissions. The three institutions have expressed their interest in continuing to work together on the recovery of threatened or locally extinct species of shared conservation interest.

More information:

Press Release - Nota de prensa de la Junta de Andalucía (ES)

MITECO: Estado de protección y conservación del Torillo andaluz

For more information about the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, click here.