Kingdom : Birds, Bittern

More often heard than seen. Smaller than the Grey Heron, with stocky neck and entirely dark brown and golden buff streaked plumage which provides excellent camouflage. Juvenile Little Bittern is similar in plumage but is very much smaller. Juvenile Night Heron is smaller and shows white spots on wings. Juvenile Purple Heron lacks streaks on […]

Kingdom : Birds, Bustard

Large, with long narrow neck and rather elongated body and long tail. In flight, wings long and evenly broad white primary patches evident. White and black crest in adults. Also black tufted feathers on side of neck with white central band.(lacking in juveniles) Breast uniformly grey, upperparts blotched and barred brown. Male elongates black and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Size of Black Kite with long wings and tail, kinked wing position when gliding and flexible wing-beats; soars on highly raised wings. Wide plumage variation: creamy white, rufous-brown and blackish forms on account of colour on body and underwing-coverts. The blackish form can show coarse dark bars on flight- and tail-feathers. Many Long-legged (except dark […]

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Small diving duck with roundish head but fairly steep forehead. Crest at nape, long and drooping in male, minute in female. Bill blue-grey. Male is black and white with black upperparts and purple green head. Female and eclipse male have brownish sides to body, female sometimes with whitish band around base of bill. In rapid […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

In adult, plumage is blackish-brown with contrasting yellow-white hindneck, pale uppertail with broad black band, white ‘shoulder-braces’ (hard to see), pale ventral region, darkish primaries above, parallel-edged wings held flattish and, often, closed narrow tail when soaring. Juvenile has dark-streaked breast forming pectoral band which contrasts with unstreaked yellow-buff rear-body, and distinct pale wedge on […]

Kingdom : Birds, Eagle

A difficult species. Adult dark brown below, flight-feathers similarly dark or a shade paler; leading underwing-coverts sometimes blackish brown on upper surface, mid to dark brown coverts sometimes contrast with darker mantle; no conspicuous pale primary-patch above. Juvenile is blackish brown below with paler flight-feathers; blackish brown upperwing has 1–3 white covert-bars, often creating pale […]

Kingdom : Birds, Buzzards and Falcons

Large, stocky falcon with relatively short tail and broad-based, sharply tapering wings which, when soaring, are more pointed than in other large falcons (except Barbary). Adult separated from Lanner and Saker by black crown and bold moustache, contrasting strongly with white throat and small cheek-patch, darker upperparts, barred underparts, but gleaming white upperbreast, and plain […]

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Medium sized, slightly built dabbling duck. Swims high on water with elevated rear end like Wigeon. Flies with rapid wing beats and has pointed wings like Wigeon. Males mainly dark grey with black around tail, In flight white speculum, bordered black in front, and white belly are visible. Female and juvenile resemble larger and heavier […]

Kingdom : Birds, Goose

The largest goose in the region. Thick neck with heavy, pink bill, greyish head and neck and pink legs. In flight, shows distinctive, pale forewing. Upperparts more greyish than other grey geese, belly has small, black blotches, not forming bars. Juvenile simiar to adult but lacks transverse lines on upperparts and dark belly marks.

Kingdom : Birds, Egrets and Herons

Small, rather dark, thick-set heron. Adult has black crown with long nape-plumes , bluish grey upperparts, buff-fringed coverts and greyish neck and underparts, with a marked facial pattern. Legs are rosy, yellowish or pink. Immature brownish with white spots on tips of wing coverts, brown and white streaked upper breast and yellowish green legs. In […]

Kingdom : Birds, Kingfisher

Large and unmistakable, the only black and white kingfisher, frequently seen hovering well above water before plunging for fish. White underparts have two more or less complete black breast bands in male and one in female. Black eye-mask, white supercilium, blackish top of head with short crest at nape; white tail has black band at […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lapwings and Plovers

Lapwing-sized, with more upright stance, especially when alert. In breeding plumage easily told by long white supercilium, joining on nape, black crown and chestnut-black belly. In winter, loses belly-patch, becomes mottled on breast and supercilium is less distinct (but white forehead usually quite prominent). Juvenile, which is browner than adult, has buffish wash to forehead […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

A large heavy-billed lark with a short tail and longish wings. Has a contrasting head pattern with large yellowish bill, black patches on lower throat, and a white superciium. In flight has dull grey-brown underwing with no white trailing edge; has white-tipped tail while outer feathers are buff-brown.

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, Owl

Resembles Long-eared, but occurs in open ground (Long-eared mostly seen among trees). Flies with slow, elegant and high wing-beats on long, slender wings raised during glides in shallow ‘V’ (shorter wings with shallower, faster wing-beats in Long-eared); often sits on ground and very short ear-tufts not always visible. Further differs from Long-eared in paler greyish […]

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Large, very slim and elegant dabbling duck. Long neck and tail obvious in flight with more pointed wings than other dabbling ducks. Male unmistakable white neck and underparts, grey upperparts contrasting with dark head and tail and dark slender bill. Female similar similar to other female dabbling ducks, but note dark bill, greyer plumage and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lapwings and Plovers

Has heavy, short-necked and pot-bellied appearance, comparatively short legs and bill, white underwing coverts and axillaries. Adult breeding is strikingly coloured black, white and golden; very contrasting in flight from below with white underwings and black belly; feet do not extend beyond tip of tail. Flight pattern above is rather uniform, dark brown spotted golden […]

Kingdom : Birds, Robin

Similar in size and shape to Rufous Scrub Robin but with longer tail. Appearance unmistakable: entirely sooty black plumage with browner wings and prominent white tips to undertail-coverts and outer tail-feathers (obviously visible from below, when tail is swept upwards over back and fanned). Skulking or close to cover, often on ground but sings from […]

Kingdom : Birds, Goose

Short necked, small billed, goose like duck with orange chestnut body and paler cinnamon-buff head. Black flight feathers with green speculum, striking white forewing and underwing coverts, and a black bill and legs. In flight told from other ducks and geese by size, striking black and white wing pattern, and orange-chestnut body.

Kingdom : Birds, Skua

Larger size, heavier build and in adult, elongated broad and twisted central tail-feathers separate it from Arctic. Two phases: all-dark (scarce) and a pale phase, which differs from Arctic in more extensive black cap, darker flanks, blacker breast band (sometimes absent), vent and upperparts. In winter, flanks and tail-coverts barred, elongated tail-feathers often short and […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Medium-sized with earth-grey upperparts streaked dark, and warm brown edges to tertials and coverts in fresh plumage; underparts buffish white heavily streaked/spotted on breast; can show a small crest (much smaller than in Crested and not spiky); rather indistinct head marks. Juvenile has upperparts spotted dark with scaly ochre markings. In flight, shows distinct whitish […]

Kingdom : Birds, Snipe

Smallest snipe in region. Very hard to see on ground being superbly camouflaged and extremely difficult to flush; often rises silently at about 1 m distance, in low, slightly jerking flight, which is less powerful than Common Snipe’s and reminiscent of a small crake; settles almost immediately; short bill, blackish brown upperparts with two broad […]

Kingdom : Birds, Hawk

Female much larger than male, approaching male Goshawk, but wing-beats faster and lighter; rear-body thinner; wing-tips blunter; tail thinner, longer and more square-cut and head protrudes less. Series of quick wing-beats interspersed with short descending glides (stronger, straighter glides in Goshawk). Adult dark ash-grey above, barred rufous or brown below (rufous most in male); dark […]

Kingdom : Birds, Tern

Large slender tern, size between Sandwich and Caspian; adult best identified from Lesser Crested by longer, thicker, more drooping waxy yellow bill tinged greenish (slimmer, orange-yellow in Lesser Crested) and by much darker ashy grey upperparts; rump and tail paler grey than back. In summer, black crested cap always broken by white forehead-band (never black […]

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, Warbler

The smallest warbler lacking any obvious markings. Similar to Chiffchaff, with upperparts pale brownish-grey, tinged olive. Indistinct pale to cream supercilium, narrow white eye-ring, dusky lores and and eye-stripe, and buff flecked ear-coverts. Underparts off-white, washed creamy on flanks. Legs and bill dark brown. Very active, constantly flicking wings, or seen in whirring and jerky […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Heavier and stockier than Pied and Black-eared; male told from former by narrow buff-white stripe down mantle and back to join white rump; told from latter by larger black ‘bib’ broadly connected with black wings (beware of Black-eared with head sunk between shoulders); told from both also by terminal tail-band of even width (no black […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Large, slender, long-tailed and long-winged wheatear with long bill and buoyant, almost butterfly-like flight, recalling Spotted Flycatcher when catching prey, sometimes in long sallies. Distinctive male with black extending to centre of breast and, except for black central tail-feathers, nearly all-white tail with just black corners, provides easy identification. Autumn and juvenile male has whitish […]

Kingdom : Birds, Whitethroat

Slightly smaller than Lesser Whitethroat with smaller bill, and paler washed out plumage. Upperparts grey-buff or sandy brown with pale edgings to wing feathers. Buffish grey crown and darkish ear-coverts. (paler than Lesser or Hume’s) Underparts clean sandy white with white throat. More active than other whitethroats, frequently flicking tail.