Kingdom : Bee-eater, Birds

Larger than European Bee-eater and distinctly green or turquoise-green with a chestnut throat, long central tail-streamers and rusty red underwings framed dark on trailing edge. Juvenile duller and lacks long tail projections. From young European Bee-eater (more uniform greenish upperparts than in adult) by entirely green plumage including crown and underparts, long tail-streamers, and rusty […]

Kingdom : Bee-eater, Birds

Easily distinguished by combination of chestnut crown, bright yellow throat contrasting with turquoise-blue underparts and, in adult, by chestnut back and upperwing-coverts. In flight, shows paler, grey underwings. Juvenile has more greenish upperparts, but still shows chestnut crown and yellow throat; central tail-feathers very short or lacking. Migrates in flocks, often passing high overhead, revealed […]

Kingdom : Birds, Bulbul

Generally sooty in colour with black head and fine pale scalloping on upperparts and breast when seen close; slightly crested and with red undertail-coverts. In flight, reveals off-white rump and white tip to blackish tail. Can be gregarious.

Kingdom : Birds, Bulbul

Size of a small thrush. Easily told by black head and throat with large white cheek-patch; the race that occurs in the region, leucotis, often shows only slight crest. Undertail-coverts yellow and noticeable white tips to tail-feathers. Juvenile has browner head than adult.

Kingdom : Birds, Crow

A slim crow with a scrawny appearance. It has a domed crown, a long deep bill and a long tail.The grey nape, neck and breast clearly demarcated from black face and remaining black plumage. Gregarious.

Kingdom : Birds, Dove

Medium-small, sandy brown dove with narrow black half-collar on hindneck (absent in juvenile). Told from Turtle by unspotted sandy brown forewing (rufous, spotted blackish in Turtle), black neck-collar, whitish underwing (dark in Turtle), plainer uppertail (bolder patterned in Turtle), absence of well defined whitish belly-patch (present Turtle) and by less rapid flight with less jerky […]

Kingdom : Birds, Dove

Small, fast-flying dove with shorter tail and more pointed wings than Collared; easily told from it also by dark underwings, well defined whitish belly patch, rufous, black-spotted upperparts with blue-grey, well defined outerwing-panel and contrasting pattern of uppertail being darker with more clear-cut white corners, particularly when tail spread upon landing: black and white-streaked patch […]

Kingdom : Birds, Dove

Small, dark red-brown dove, recalling Collared in proportions but plumage closer to Turtle; smaller than both. Black-spotted patch on fore-neck and upper breast, unspotted red-brown upperparts with large, dull blue-grey area in outer-coverts distinguish it. Uppertail less contrasting than in Turtle. Juvenile lacks patch on fore-neck and is less richly coloured. Flight closer to Collared’s […]

Kingdom : Birds, Dove

Unmistakable at all ages. Very small blue-grey or grey-brown dove with long black central tail-feathers, recalling large Budgerigar in shape. In flight, black primaries show large red-brown patch. Male has black face and upper breast, which are brownish grey in female. Juvenile barred black and buff on crown, throat, wing-coverts and back. Very rapid flight […]

Kingdom : Birds, Dove

Medium-sized, compact, pale blue-grey pigeon, with two broad black bands across secondaries above and whitish or greyish rump. Underwing white with dark band at rear, black band on outer tail.The ancestor of the Feral Pigeon, some of which are very similar to Rock, others are blackish, whitish or reddish buff, but black bands on wing, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Hoopoe

Distinctive pinkish buff with bold black and white bars on wings and tail, long black-tipped crest, usually depressed (though raised upon landing), long decurved bill and distinctive flight with flaps of broad wings. Spends much time on the ground where hard to detect; often first noticed when it flies.

Kingdom : Birds, Martin

Smaller than Barn Swallow with black and white appearance; easily recognised by bluish black upperparts with striking white rump and all white underparts; short, forked black tail with white undertail-coverts and rather dark underwings. Juvenile duller with brownish wash on head and breast sides. Flight more fluttering than Barn Swallow with long glides often high […]

Kingdom : Birds, Martin

Broad-winged, almost square-tailed, largely brown martin. Dark brown upperparts lacking greyish tinge to rump; cheeks fairly dark usually contrasting with pale throat and underparts; fine spots on chin and throat can be hard to see; underparts buffish grey becoming darker towards tail-coverts without contrast; white spots in spread tail distinctive; underwing-coverts distinctly darker than flight-feathers […]

Kingdom : Birds, Martin

A small pale grey martin. Upperparts, especially back and rump, appear slightly greyer than wings; underparts almost white including chin, merging into pale mouse-grey undertail-coverts; less contrasting head pattern though ear-coverts sometimes darker than crown; white spots in spread tail distinctly visible when flying overhead or from above. Underwing pale grey with brownish-grey coverts. Flight […]

Kingdom : Birds, Martin

Small, dull brown and white martin distinguished by white underparts sharply broken by brown breast band and slightly long and deeply forked tail. Juvenile has scaly buff upperparts. It has a fluttering flight action.

Kingdom : Birds, Starling

Plumage is deep brown, with a yellow bill and small yellow bare patch below the eye. In flight it shows a conspicuous large white patch across primary bases, on outer underwing-coverts and on tail corners. Walks on ground with an upright, strutting motion. A noisy bird.

Kingdom : Birds, Oriole

It is a shy, thrush-sized bird. Male’s bright yellow plumage with black wings is diagnostic. Female and immature male are greenish above with olive-brown wings and tail, rump often yellowish green, underparts yellowish white, indistinctly streaked darker. Appears short tailed in flight. Flight pattern undulating, followed by soft wing beats.

Kingdom : Birds, Parakeet

Resembles distinctly larger version of Ring-necked, but with heavier bill and large red patch on shoulders at all ages (sometimes partly hidden when perched). Male female differences as for Rose-ringed.

Kingdom : Birds, Parakeet

Large green parakeet with long, graduated, pointed tail and short, deeply hooked red bill. In male, black throat continues round neck as a narrow rosy ring, absent in female and juvenile where throat green and bill horn-coloured. The larger Alexandrine has red shoulder-patch, absent in Rose-ringed. Flight swift, fast and direct but flocks may change […]

Kingdom : Birds, Peafowl

Weighs from 3.5-5kg. Introduced into Qatar. Male has distinctive long beautiful neck and long greenish glossy feathers with round spots, when displaying its blue, green and beautiful feathers in a dramatic way for attracting females. Peafowl is usually shy but very tame.

Kingdom : Birds, Roller

Its turquoise-blue body and most wing-coverts contrasting with blackish flight-feathers, bright chestnut back and deep blue leading forewing above make this species unmistakable. The juvenile is duller and browner with lightly streaked neck and breast. In flight, has fast vigorous wing-beats, at times not unlike those of Lapwing. Medium–long tail narrow and square-cut. Often sits […]

Kingdom : Birds, Roller

Identified at all ages in flight by large, translucent pale turquoise-blue primary-patch (both surfaces) and pale turquoise-blue tail-feathers (except centrals) with clear-cut dark blue band at tip and base (seen when tail spread). Wing-tip clearly blunter than in European Roller. When perched, lightly white-streaked neck, throat and breast are vinous-cinnamon (turquoise-blue in European Roller) and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Finches and Sparrows

A common wide-spread sparrow. Male has a grey crown, chestnut brown sides to head, pale greyish cheeks, large black bib on chest and grey rump. Mantle and wing coverts are rufous-chestnut brown with a broad white wing bar on median coverts. Female and juvenile lack contrasting head and throat pattern, being buffish brown above, boldly […]

Kingdom : Birds, Swallow

Easily distinguished by combination of bluish black upperparts (small white patches visible in tail when spread), long tail-streamers, chestnut forehead and throat, solid dark breast band and buffish white underparts including underwing-coverts. Juvenile lacks tail-streamers, has brownish breast band and wings and paler rusty forehead. Flight is strong and elegant with much banking and turning, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Swallow

Size, shape and bluish black upperparts much resembling Barn Swallow but easily distinguished by rufous collar and broad pale rufous rump; underparts, including underwing-coverts, buffish white, faintly streaked (hardly visible in flight); conspicuous black undertail-coverts striking when perched or in flight; lacks breast band and white in tail. Juvenile duller and browner with upperparts fringed […]

Kingdom : Birds, Swift

Almost uniform sooty in fresh plumage, but brownish and more contrasting in worn plumage, though much depending on light conditions. Round whitish throat-patch variable, sometimes almost invisible; lacks contrast above but underparts show clearly paler inner flight-feathers than body and wing-coverts; deep tail-fork. Easily confused with Pallid, but note especially overall colour-tone, throat-patch, head pattern, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wagtail

Male unmistakable; N Russian race, citreola, has bright yellow head and underparts, black neck-band and grey upperparts; S central Asian calcarata has black mantle while W central Asian, werae, has no (or reduced) black neck-band and less rich yellow underparts; 2 broad pure white wing-bars characteristic at all ages. Female told from Yellow also by […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wagtail

In all plumages has characteristic yellow vent and undertail-coverts, greyish back, no obvious covert-bars but bold white translucent bar at base of flight-feathers (visible in flight), very long tail and extremely undulating flight. Male in summer has black throat bordered by white stripe below; female has less black or even whitish throat; immature has white […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wagtail

Easily told from other wagtails by grey, black and white plumage, with grey back contrasting with black nape (male) or crown (female), white face and ear-coverts contrasting sharply with black throat and breast. Juvenile, and especially winter birds, have whitish underparts broken by black breast band. NE Iranian race, personata, has black of head and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wagtail

In male, head colour differs, depending on race, of which eight have been recorded in the region. Racial variation is given below: flava: blue-grey crown and ear-coverts; long white supercilium; chin and sometimes sides of throat white. thunbergi: dark grey crown, with no sharp demarcation to upperparts but contrasting with very dark grey ear-coverts, usually […]

Kingdom : Birds, Warbler

A uniform grey-brown warbler, with a square-ended tail, and a short, relatively heavy bill, rounded head, greyish sides to neck and lacking any white in tail or wings. Most of the other warbler species have thinner, longer bills. Keeps well hidden in vegetation.

Kingdom : Birds, Wryneck

Its skulking behaviour and nightjar-like plumage often make it difficult to study in detail. Reminiscent of large long-tailed warbler or greyish female Red-backed Shrike when dropping into cover in low foliage, or slipping away in low, shallowly undulating flight. Often forages on ground close to cover. Distinctive features when seen well are pointed head/bill and […]