Kingdom : Flora, Tree

Growth form: Tree. Flowering. Not known. Status: Introduced. Not in other Gulf regions. Habitat & distribution: Presumably widespread in urban areas. Uses: Planted as an ornamental tree, for erosion control and a source of firewood and charcoal.

Kingdom : Birds, Bunting

Resembles a bright version of Ortolan Bunting. Male has bright blue-grey head and breast band framing rusty orange throat, rufous rump, a rufous-buff vent and undertail coverts. Belly orange-chestnut, blackish brown tertials with clear-cut rufous-chestnut notched fringe. Female duller, often with traces of ash-grey on head, some grey on streaked breast. Compare with Ortolan Bunting.

Kingdom : Birds, Bunting

Medium sized bunting with yellow eye-ring, pink bill, boldly streaked mantle and blackish brown tertials with clear-cut light chestnut brown edges. Male has olive greyish head and breast band which frames a pale yellowish throat. Female is duller, less olive, more brown tinged and more streaked. Throat pale yellow-buff. Compare with similar Cretzschmar’s Bunting.

Kingdom : Flora, Herb

Growth form: Annual herb. Flowering. Mar–Apr. Status: Introduced. Common. Also recorded: Bahrain, Kuwait, E Saudi Arabia, UAE. Habitat & distribution: Occasional in cultivated areas and with trees, particularly in N and NW Qatar. Uses: Ghazanfar reports the whole plant is used to treat skin rash and ulcers. Notes: Formerly placed in the Primulaceae. The blue-flowering […]

Kingdom : Insects, Moths and Butterflies, Whites, Yellows, or Sulphurs

Insect follows Pieridae family, and Lepidoptera order. Wing is yellowish orange and ends are black. Wing is about 45-62 mm long. Larvas attack various plants of Leguminosae, causing great harm to fodder plants including clover and Lucerne.

Kingdom : Birds, Flycatcher

A small Flycatcher, with clear white spots on sides of tail base. Adult male has reddish orange throat, and sometimes upper breast. Sides of head and neck are lead-grey. Females and 2nd year males have buffish white throat, otherwise upper plumage is grey-brown and whitish below. It moves around foliage like Willow Warbler, raising tail.

Kingdom : Flora, Herb

Growth form: Annual or biennial herb. Flowering. Mar–May. Status: Introduced. Common. Also recorded: Kuwait, E Saudi Arabia, UAE. Habitat & distribution: Occurs on various soils and a weed in urban areas, but may have been frequently mis-recorded for C. serpens. Uses: Sap is applied to poisonous bites (Jongbloed et al.). Notes: One of several very […]

Kingdom : Flies, Fruit flies, Insects

Insect follows Tephritidae family, and Diptera order. Larvas grow in fruits of vast group of pumpkin and wild crops such as cucumber, watermelon and marrow. Fly lays eggs under fruits’ crust, breeds after 1-2 days. Larva feed inside fruit for 5-6 days, then returned to soil or under host plant. Adults appeart after 2-4 weeks. […]

Kingdom : Beetles, Insects, Longhorn beetles

Insect follows Cermbycidae family, and Coleoptera order. Size is between 5-8 mm, yellowish brown, and nocturnal. It was found in Doha Ziziphus. Larvas dig inside tree branches. Adults have unique long antennas.

Kingdom : Brush-footed butterflies or Four-footed butterflies, Insects, Moths and Butterflies

Insect follows Nymphalidae family, and Lepidoptera order. Half wing is velvet black from the base, and the upper part is black with white spots on the wing. Wing is 40-50 mm long. Larvas attack big number of plant families, reaches about 300 plants.

Kingdom : Birds, Stonechat

Looks similar to the Siberian Stonechat. Recorded in Qatar as a passage migrant and winter visitor. Female paler in colour than male which looks more whitish, with dark breast and throat.

Kingdom : Birds, Stonechat

It is similar in appearance to the European Stonechat. The male neck is more whitish and underparts less grayish compared to the European species. Generally, unstreaked orange to white rump, black tail is paler. Longer primary projection much whiter in sides of tail base.

Kingdom : Birds, Thrush

Rather small thrush, with short tail and prominent bill. Male easily told by blue-grey upper parts and bib with white patch on back and dull red underparts and tail. In winter feathers of entire plumage edged dark and white producung a scalloped effect. Female and 1st winter similar to winter male but browner, resembling female […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Male has a grey crown with a distinctive white supercilium. Ear coverts, throat and shoulder are black. Mantle is grey , underparts whitish with a rusty orange vent.. Female lacks black throat as in male. Tips of tail feathers are black with two white lines, and are a red broad colour extending towards birds’ body. […]

Kingdom : Birds, Chat

Small, short-tailed chat with less upright stance, slightly smaller head and longer primary projection than Stonechat. Told from Stonechat by combination of streaked brownish rump and white sides to base of tail; male also has bold, clear-cut white supercilium and white stripe between blackish sides of head and orangey throat; female duller with paler throat […]