Kingdom : Birds, Warbler

It is a middle-sized warbler, uniform dark olive greenish-grey in colour, with a round head and pot-bellied appearance.Yellow in plumage is limited to bend of wing, slight infusion on breast and sometimes under-tail coverts. Supercilium is short, off-white,tinged yellow or buff. A broken eye-ring often seen with dark ear coverts. Legs are black and bill […]

Kingdom : Birds, Egrets and Herons

A graceful, all-white egret, which in adult plumage has a black bill and black legs with yellow feet. Immature birds have brownish green legs and pinkish base to lower mandible. May be confused with white phase of Western Reef Heron. (see that species) Larger than Cattle Egret, also lacks buffish wash to plumage and bill […]

Kingdom : Birds, Egrets and Herons

The largest white heron with long, angular neck often stretched to full extent. Adult in breeding plumage told by large size, scapular plumes, black bill with yellow base and black legs, yellowish above joint. In winter bill is yellow and lower legs blackish green or brownish. Sedate in flight and on the ground.

Kingdom : Birds, Godwit

Resembles Black-tailed (which see) especially on ground in non-breeding plumage, bur note more compact, less erect appearance with shorter legs and neck, and slightly upturned bill. In flight, easily separated in all plumages by lack of distinct wing and tail markings typical of Black-tailed. Male in breeding plumage has deep rusty red head and entire […]

Kingdom : Birds, Egrets and Herons

A large heron with long neck and legs and powerful bill. Grey upperparts and white underparts and neck. Adult has characteristic black crest and markings down front of neck. Juvenile has darker grey or browner upperparts and crown with rest of plumage white. Bill yellowish and legs brownish yellow in adult. Juveniles have browner bill […]

Kingdom : Birds, Ibis

Blackish with long decurved bill. Close views however show plumage to be a deep purple-chestnut, glossed green on wings. In winter bill is brownish with fine pale streaks on head and neck. Juvenile plumage much duller. Fast wing-beats in flight often followed by long glides, frequently in long-line formation.

Kingdom : Birds, Kite

Smaller than the Black Kite, but adult birds have white lines on the outer primary feathers which are noticeable in flight. Crown colour is brown while in Black Kite is greyish. Eyes are black and attractive. Habitat is similar to that of Black Kite which is mostly woodland, near water sources, and can be located […]

Kingdom : Birds, Pipit

Adult plumage has variable amount of reddish or pinkish buff on face, throat and upper breast. Plumage varies during summer and first winter regarding throat and breast colour, streaked rumps, flanks and stripes. Found in grassland, cultivated lands and marshes near water. Categorized in Qatar as passage migrant and winter visitor.

Kingdom : Birds, Pipit

Medium-large pipit with relatively long tail, legs and bill and fairly upright stance which, together with adult’s poorly streaked sandy upperparts, nearly unstreaked breast, plain sandy wings with conspicuous dark-centred median coverts and bold whitish supercilium separate it from other pipits. Undulating flight slightly reminiscent of Yellow Wagtail. Runs quickly on the ground, stops suddenly […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lapwings and Plovers

Very similar to and easily confused with slightly bigger European Golden in all plumages. Best separated by generally slimmer structure, voice and underwing. Compared with European Golden, wings often (but not always) protrude 1-2 cm beyond tail-tip (most obvious in adult), bill is finer and longer, legs are clearly longer, particularly thighs, making it appear […]

Kingdom : Birds, Redstart

Males of ‘European’ winter visitors are of the blackish grey race with white wing panel; Near Eastern semirufus is black above and on throat to lower breast, sharply defined from deep red below; NE Iranian phoenicuroides is less black above and black below extends only to mid-breast; male ochruros (Turkey to N Iran) variable; some […]

Kingdom : Birds, Sandpiper

Slightly larger than Dunlin with shorter, straighter bill. In winter, easily told by very pale plumage with often a dark mark at bend of wing. In summer and juvenile plumage more confusable with other small waders, particularly stints, especially if comparison is not possible. In summer plumage (often shown on spring passage), can be quite […]

Kingdom : Birds, Shrike

A pale shrike, little longer than the Red-backed Shrike. In the strain breeding in Iran (i.e. phoenicuroides), male has blackish mask on face and a white mirror on primaries’ base. In isabellinus male, face mask is less delineated, and there is hardly a white mirror in wings. All strains contain yellowish white lower parts, and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Shrike

Compared with the Southern Grey Shrike, its colour is more pale particularly the bill and the area between the bill and the eyes, and also the crown. It is difficult to tell them apart from other shrikes. Usually it swoops on its prey, like big insects and rodents, and spikes them on thorns to feed […]

Kingdom : Birds, Shrike

Comes to Qatar as winter visitor. Darker in colour compared to other Shrikes, with long black line extending from end of the black bill to behind the eye. Tail is long and reddish and wings in flight have distinctive white spot. Legs are slim and black. Chest and underparts white. Has the ability to dash […]

Kingdom : Birds, Sandpiper

Similar size to Little Stint but with more elongated body, shorter legs, which are yellowish grey in all plumages and white sides to tail (useful when flushed at short range). In summer, mainly grey-buff with dark centres to many scapulars, and lacking the rufous-orange tones of Little. In winter the dark scapulars are lost and […]

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, Duck

Smallest of the common ducks found in the region. Readily takes to the wing with swift flight. At distance, male looks dark headed with greyish body, yellow patches oon side of rump and thin white horizontal stripe on side of body. Female told from Garganey female by evenly coloured head and throat, small light patch […]

Kingdom : Birds, Tern

The largest tern identified by heavy red bill (can be seen at long distance), almost gull-like flight with slow steady wing-beats and by call; wings and back pale grey, under surface white with distinctive dark primaries below. Juvenile has more orangy bill, more extensive black cap to below eye (unlike adult), weak dark scales on […]

Kingdom : Birds, Tern

Resembles Sandwich Tern but has shorter, thicker, gull-like all black bill and, in adult, shallower forked tail; lacks short crest of Sandwich Tern and has whitish grey rump and tail (only slightly paler than mantle, white in Sandwich); lacks contrast shown by Sandwich between dark outer and pale inner primaries above; outer primaries have distinct […]

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, Warbler

A small sandy grey -brown warbler, with relatively long tail and legs. Rufous-brown tertials rump and closed upper tail. The tail, when spread is dark brown, with much white on sides with a rufous centre.The fine bill is mostly yellow, with yellowish iris and legs. Sometimes there is a pale area around the eye. Spends […]

Kingdom : Birds, Warbler

A small short tailed warbler. Male has black forehead and ear coverts, with grey crown and brown grey mantle, wings with sandy feather-fringes and black alula. Females and juveniles are a pale sandy brown. In fresh plumage showwhite moustachial stripe, contrasting with pinkish-white throat and breast. Eye ring varies from salmon pink to red. Bill […]

Kingdom : Birds, Whitethroat

A small to medium sized warbler. Genearally grey-brown above with browner wings, medium -grey crown and darker ear coverts, which often vary in prominence. Has a white throat with a contrasting dusky-washed breast. Differs from Common Whitethroat in abcense of rusty fringes to wing feathers. It has dark ear-coverts and dark legs. Ist year birds […]