أَبُو مِنْجَلٍ الْأَصْلَعُ طَائِرٌ نَادِرٌ. رَأْسُهُ بِلَا رِيشٍ، وَرِيشُ رَقَبَتِهِ أَسْوَدُ، وَمِنْقَارُهُ طَوِيلٌ وَمُنْحَنٍ. وَمَعْنَى اسْمِهِ الْعِلْمِيِّ «الرَّجُلُ الْعَجُوزُ»، بِسَبَبِ رَأْسِهِ الْأَصْلَعِ. وَأَكْثَرُ هَذِهِ الطُّيُورِ فِي الْعَالَمِ تَعِيشُ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ، فِي حَدِيقَةِ سُوسْ مَاسَةَ الْوَطَنِيَّةِ. وَهِيَ تَبْنِي أَعْشَاشَهَا عَلَى صُخُورٍ عَالِيَةٍ قُرْبَ الْبَحْرِ. فِي سَنَةِ ١٩٩٦ مَاتَتْ طُيُورٌ كَثِيرَةٌ، وَلَا أَحَدَ يَعْرِفُ السَّبَبَ. فَبَقِيَ مِنْهَا تِسْعَةٌ وَخَمْسُونَ زَوْجًا فَقَطْ. وَمِنَ الْأَخْطَارِ عَلَيْهَا أَيْضًا: الصَّيْدُ، وَالْمُبِيدَاتُ. لِذَلِكَ يَعْمَلُ هُنَاكَ حُرَّاسٌ شَبَابٌ مِنْ قُرَى الصَّيَّادِينَ الْقَرِيبَةِ. يَذْهَبُ الْحُرَّاسُ إِلَى الطُّيُورِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ. يُرَاقِبُونَ الْأَعْشَاشَ، وَيَعُدُّونَ الطُّيُورَ. وَيَحْمُونَ أَمَاكِنَ الْأَعْشَاشِ مِنَ الْإِزْعَاجِ، لِأَنَّ الطُّيُورَ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْهُدُوءِ. وَبَعْضُ الْحُرَّاسِ يَعْمَلُونَ هُنَاكَ مُنْذُ سَنَوَاتٍ طَوِيلَةٍ. وَبَعْدَ سَنَوَاتٍ مِنْ هَذَا الْعَمَلِ، زَادَ عَدَدُ الطُّيُورِ. فِي سَنَةِ ٢٠١٧ كَانَ عَدَدُهَا أَقَلَّ مِنْ سِتِّمِئَةِ طَائِرٍ. وَفِي سَنَةِ ٢٠١٨ صَارَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِمِئَةِ طَائِرٍ. وَفِي تِلْكَ السَّنَةِ طَارَ مِئَةٌ وَسَبْعُونَ فَرْخًا صَغِيرًا لِأَوَّلِ مَرَّةٍ. وَبَدَأَتِ الطُّيُورُ تَعِيشُ فِي أَمَاكِنَ جَدِيدَةٍ عَلَى السَّاحِلِ. فَعَمَلُ الْحُرَّاسِ الْيَوْمِيُّ كَانَ مُهِمًّا جِدًّا.
The northern bald ibis is a rare bird. Its head has no feathers, the feathers on its neck are black, and its beak is long and curved. And the meaning of its scientific name is “the old man”, because of its bald head. And most of these birds in the world live in Morocco, in Souss-Massa National Park. And they build their nests on high rocks near the sea. In 1996 many birds died, and nobody knows the reason. So only fifty-nine pairs of them were left. And other dangers to them are hunting and pesticides. So young wardens from the nearby fishing villages work there. The wardens go to the birds every day. They watch the nests, and they count the birds. And they protect the nesting places from disturbance, because the birds need quiet. And some of the wardens have worked there for many years. And after years of this work, the number of birds grew. In 2017 there were fewer than six hundred of them. And in 2018 there were more than seven hundred. And that year one hundred and seventy young