Hanne & Jens Eriksen

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2 Simon Aspinll, Slim Jved nd Hnne & Jens Eriksen ssisted by Tommy Pedersen nd the Emirtes Bird Records Committee AE pges _L8_v2.indd 1 5/12/11 1:27 PM

3 About EAD The Environment Agency Abu Dhbi (EAD) ws estblished in 1996 to preserve Abu Dhbi s nturl heritge, protect our future, nd rise wreness bout environmentl issues. EAD is Abu Dhbi s environmentl regultor nd dvises the government on environmentl policy. It works to crete sustinble communities, nd protect nd conserve wildlife nd nturl resources. EAD lso works to ensure integrted nd sustinble wter resources mngement, to ensure clen ir nd minimise climte chnge nd its impcts. Acknowledgements The uthors wish to thnk the Environment Agency Abu Dhbi (EAD) for funding this publiction nd in prticulr H.E Mjid Al Mnsouri for his support. We lso thnk Dr. Ahmed Bshir, Mr. Abdulnsser Al Shmsi nd Mr. Thbit Zhrn Abdesslm nd other stff from EAD for their support. We thnk the mny birdwtchers who, over the yers, hve sent in their sightings nd thereby hve given us much clerer picture of which birds re found where nd t wht time of the yer. We lso thnk members of the Emirtes Bird Records Committee, pst nd present, for their contributions to estblishing relible list of birds of the United Arb Emirtes. Specil thnks to Tommy Pedersen, Bird Recorder for the UAE, for his help with distribution mps nd histogrms, nd to Peter Hellyer for his vluble comments. Text Simon Aspinll nd Slim Jved Photogrphs Hnne & Jens Eriksen Mps Hnne & Jens Eriksen Design Jens Eriksen Published by Environment Agency - Abu Dhbi P O Box 45553, Abu Dhbi Tel.: Fx: E-mil: customerservice@ed.e Copyright 2011 Environment Agency - Abu Dhbi Hooded Wheter All Rights Reserved No prt of this publiction my be reproduced, stored in retrievl system or trnsmitted in ny form or by ny mens, electronic, electrosttic, mgnetic tpe, mechnicl, photocopying, recording, scnning or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN No T o fe b W r p im B E w o w e c c Z s H A y e b to w I m r c M M S 2 AE pges _L8_v2.indd 2 6/23/11 3:21 PM

4 Foreword The United Arb Emirtes in generl nd the Emirte of Abu Dhbi in prticulr re blessed with rich bird life. The vst stretches of the costl mudflts, numerous islnds, inlnd wetlnds nd even impoverished desert provide vriety of feeding, nesting nd resting opportunities for numerous resident nd migrtory birds. With 442 bird species recorded to dte from the Emirtes, birds ccount for reltively high percentge of higher vertebrte diversity in the country. There re more thn 100 which regulrly breed in the country. The country is n importnt destintion for millions of birds which migrte between Europe, Asi nd Afric nd is prticulrly importnt for mny regionlly nd interntionlly importnt breeding colonies of sebirds. Birds re one of the most well studied groups in the country nd studies by the Environment Agency Abu Dhbi (EAD) nd its prtnership with dedicted bird wtchers through the Emirtes Bird Records Committee (EBRC) hs enhnced our understnding on their distribution, rrivl nd deprture timings nd res where they cn be found t different sesons of the yer. Such knowledge is essentil not only for the conservtion of birds, which re n integrl prt of our culturl heritge nd trditions, but lso importnt for the conservtion of the country s biodiversity. The legcy of conservtion, left behind by the lte Sheikh Zyed bin Sultn Al Nhyn, hs been bly crried forwrd under the ledership of H.H Sheikh Khlif bin Zyed Al Nhyn, President of the UAE, nd H.H Sheikh Mohmmed bin Zyed Al Nhyn, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhbi. Although gret del of knowledge hs been ccumulted bout birds over the yers by orgnistions nd individuls working in the country, the sme knowledge hs not been ble to rech the public domin becuse of lck of suitble books. With Abu Dhbi continuously expnding nd promoting nture-bsed tourism, there is genuine need for book with text nd photogrphs which would be helpful to identify birds quickly nd esily. I hope tht this beutifully illustrted book will fill this gp nd encourge mny more people to observe birds in their nturl environment nd pprecite the rich nturl heritge of our country; this will go long wy to develop new consciousness towrds the protection of our nturl environment of which we ll re prt. Mohmmed A. Al Bowrdi Mnging Director, Environment Agency Abu Dhbi, Secretry Generl, Executive Council of Abu Dhbi 3 AE pges _L8.indd 3 5/5/11 6:10 PM

5 Tble of Contents Acknowledgements Foreword Tble of Contents Introduction About this guide How to wtch birds Binoculrs How to identify birds Where to wtch birds in the UAE Birdwtching code of conduct Flconry More informtion Bibliogrphy Birds of grdens, prks nd frms Birds t the cost nd wetlnds Birds of the mountins Birds of the desert Index of scientific bird nmes Index of English bird nmes Phroh Egle Owl AE pges _L8.indd 4 4 5/5/11 6:11 PM

6 Introduction Why wtch birds? There re mny possible nswers to this question but the resons most frequently given hve one thing in common birds occur everywhere nd re interesting nd esy to wtch. It is true tht they re by fr the most conspicuous group of nimls nd they cn be studied t ny time of dy (or night), ny time of the yer nd in ny plce on erth. A birdwtcher cn be s young s five or s old s 105 nd nything in between. Birds re cptivting to wtch nd fscinting to lern bout - they re often colourful, hve beutiful songs, build intricte nests or my hve elborte displys, while mny migrte, twice yer, huge distnces between continents. Birdwtching cn be undertken lone or it cn be socil event with you nd your friends getting together. It cn be something to do on csul bsis, just wnting to know the nmes of those birds seen on dy t the bech or in the desert, or you might wnt specificlly to seek prticulr species of birds in res such s mountins or in nture reserves. Birdwtchers often keep list of birds seen in their grdens or in their own country, or list of birds seen in ny given yer or lifelist of every different bird they hve ever seen. Birdwtching is very populr hobby in mny prts of the world nd it could become your lifelong pssion. There re some 10,000 different species of birds in the world but nobody hs seen them ll, in fct no-one hs yet seen even 9000 in their lifetime. You my be fortunte to be ble to trvel to fr-flung plces to find ll those wonderful species you might otherwise only ever hve seen in books or on television. Never forget, birdwtching is first nd foremost n enjoyble hobby. To be ble to dd nme to tht creture flying over the cost or your grden instntly mkes it more interesting. We hope with this field guide to be ble to help you in getting strted nd dd nother dimension to your fieldtrips in the UAE whether you re new to birdwtching or new to the birds of the UAE. Western Reef Heron 5 AE pges indd 5 2/21/11 4:35 PM

7 About this guide Identifying birds cn be n enormous chllenge. A totl of 443 species hve been recorded in the UAE to dte - n impressive number considering tht lrge proportion of the country is rid sndy or stony desert. It would be dunting tsk to try to lern them ll, s, in mny cses, mle nd femle birds, young nd old, nd summer nd winter plumges re different. One cn quickly see the complexity involved in bird identifiction. It my tke you mny yers to lern ll the different plumges nd, in fct, the more you wtch the more you will relise you never stop lerning new things. Lughing Dove 6 For the new birdwtcher, there re so mny species, with ll the vritions in ppernce due, s stted bove, to their sex, ge nd time of the yer, tht it cn often mke it difficult to be confident bout correct identifiction. However, of the UAE totl checklist, bout 135 re vgrnts, hving been seen here only few times, while mny others re considered rre nd re lso unlikely to be seen. In this guide we hve included ll species considered common in the UAE, s well s mny species tht re either firly common, quite esy to identify or of specil importnce to the country - some 240 species in ll. Your tsk in identifying bird is therefore gretly reduced. When you re strting out, try to concentrte on the common nd conspicuous species nd grdully you will improve your identifiction skills. Lter you my wnt to tckle the more difficult ones, the LBJs ( little brown jobs ). You will undoubtedly come cross bird tht just doesn t seem to be in the book, nd it my not be. Don t worry. Even experts sometimes hve to leve bird unidentified. To simplify the tsk of identifiction further, we hve grouped the species together ccording to hbitt. This hs mny dvntges, but my lso led to pitflls. If you re in prk or grden in the est of the UAE, you should see species such s Lughing Dove, Purple Sunbird, Grceful Prini, Eursin Hoopoe, Indin Roller, House Crow nd Common Myn mong others. Forget bout these species if you re in the desert, where you will insted hve chnce of seeing Brownnecked Rven, Greter Hoopoe-Lrk, Blck-crowned Sprrow-Lrk, Southern Grey Shrike nd Chestnut-bellied Sndgrouse. The Gret Cormornt my well be seen on lkes, khors nd lgoons, but the Socotr Cormornt occurs only on offshore islnds nd t se. By identifying the hbitt first, you cn help cut down the number of different species to be expected. The trouble is, however, tht some birds - like the Lughing Dove - re widespred nd my be encountered in more thn one hbitt. Still, when trying to identify new bird, strt by looking in the hbitt section of this book tht fits best. AE pges _L8.indd 6 5/5/11 6:11 PM