Kingdom : Birds, Robin

Size and shape resembles Robin but slimmer, longer legged and generally more skulking. Pale, broad supercilium distinctive, and diagnostic rust-red tail-base obvious in flight or when perched with cocked tail. Striking features in breeding male are blue chin and throat framed below by black and rusty; depending on race the throat spot is red, white […]

Kingdom : Birds, Cormorant

Large waterbird with a powerful bill, swims low in the water and often perches with wings outstretched. In breeding plumage glossy black with white feathering on nape and neck and white thigh patch. Adults in winter retain white chin and throat patch unlike the Socotra cormorant. Juveniles browner with brownish-white or dirty white underparts. or […]

Kingdom : Birds, Coursers and Whimbrels

Large, brown-mottled, buffish grey wader with long, decurved bill. Plumage warmer, more ochre (less greyish), in fresh plumage (including juvenile). Male smaller than female, with shorter bill, which in young male overlaps with Whimbrel’s, but is more evenly decurved. Flight with rather slow, gull-like wing-beats (obviously slower than Whimbrel), showing barred tail and white wedge […]

Kingdom : Birds, Flamingo

Flamingos are unmistakable large, long-legged, long-necked pinkish wading birds with characteristic bill-shape. The white plumage of the adults gradually acquires a pink hue and red wing-coverts. Juveniles which are smaller than adults, are greyish with brown markings.

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

A large gull. Heavily built with deep bill, long legs, heavy breast and long wing projection. Adult a dark ash-grey with orange yellow legs, usually with dark brownish eyes. Bill has large gonys-spot and variable blackish subterminal band. In winter sparse streaking on hindneck. Adult a shade of dark ash-grey with orange-yellow legs and usually […]

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

The smallest in size of the Gull group with long very dark black wings and mantle. Legs are bright yellow with a small white mirror spot on wingtip when flying. Distinguished from other gulls by dark brown tertials, white tail and rump, tail base with spotted or barred black and white beard. Lives in coastal […]

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

Similar to Steppe Gull with large white head. Comes to Qatar as winter visitor to coastal areas. Smaller than the Heuglin’s Gull, but more paler in colour with long bill and upright stance and distinctive blank facial expression, sloping rounded head and dark eyes. In flight has less of black and large all white wing […]

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

Medium-small gull, told (except from Slender-billed) by broad white leading edge of primaries, contrasting below with dark grey remaining primaries. In summer, has dark brown hood; in winter, head white with black spot on ear-coverts and, often, vague bar from eye over crown and from ear-covers over nape. See Slender-billed for separation. Juvenile and 1st […]

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

Very large gull. Distinctive adult identified in summer by large black hood, large orange-yellow bill with black band near tip and white primaries with black band near wing-tip. In winter, has large dusky patch behind eye; white eye-crescents present in all ages. Juvenile and 1st winter told from other young large gulls by unmarked white […]

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

Medium-sized gull with wing pattern almost identical to Black-headed, but head completely white in summer when breast often has rosy tinge. Larger than Black-headed with different build; bill distinctly longer, forehead rather sloping with longer upper mandible feathering accentuating length of bill, giving ‘snoutish’ effect. Legs longer (stands higher); when relaxed breast more bulky but […]

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

Looks very much like the Caspian Gull in size and plumage, including the beak and wings particularly when flying or standing on ground or inside water. Categorized as winter visitor and can be found in all coastal areas of Qatar.

Kingdom : Birds, Gull

Typically larger in size compared to Lesser Black-backed Gull, with upright stance. Categorized in Qatar as passage migrant & winter visitor on most coastal areas. Looks like Caspian and Steppe Gulls in plumage but more darker. Wings greyer and colour of legs vary from pale purple to yellow creating difficulty in identification. Bill is usually […]

Kingdom : Birds, Harrier

Larger, heavier and more broad-winged than other harriers; wavering low glides on raised wings when hunting; otherwise wings with bend at carpals. Male tri-coloured on upperwing (silver-grey, brown and black); uppertail silver-grey; under surface white but wing-tip black and rear-body red-brown, latter separating it from high-flying male Hen Harrier. Female dark brown, tail rusty-brown, crown, […]

Kingdom : Birds, Egrets and Herons

Stocky, about half the size of the Grey Heron and most active at dusk. Adult’s grey plumage with black back and crown are unmistakable. The brownish juvenile is prominently spotted with white on back and coverts. This feature identifies it from the other brown heron-types, notably the larger Bittern. By the second year the spotting […]

Kingdom : Birds, Hypocolius

In shape resembles a slim Grey Shrike but with longer tail. Soft blue-grey plumage with black eye-mask joining over nape and black-tipped tail; primaries black (but barely showing so at rest) with pure white tips, prominent in flight. Female and immature rather featureless creamy brown (but with well demarcated creamy throat), lacking black on head […]

Kingdom : Birds, Kingfisher

Small kingfisher with brilliant blue and green upperparts, reddish underparts, but buffish white throat and neck patch and long, dark bill, though female has red on most of lower mandible. In flight, which is swift, direct and low over water, luminous back and tail obvious. Fairly shy, often inconspicuous when perched, sitting on branch over […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lapwings and Plovers

Unmistakable with long up-turned crest and greenish upperparts; in flight, broad rounded wings show no wing-bar. In winter upperparts have narrow pale scaling to feathers. Often in large flocks outside breeding season.

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Small pale lark with well streaked upperparts, buffish white generally unstreaked underparts with variable black patch at sides of throat (adult); relatively stout pale bill, long tertials almost covering wing-tip (unless worn) and boldly patterned median coverts; also prominent buffish white supercilium, pale lores, dark eye-streak and small pale area on cheeks are further features. […]

Kingdom : Birds, Lark

Resembles Greater Short-toed Lark though slightly smaller, with shorter, more stubby bill, more distinctly streaked breast, no black patches at sides of throat, shorter tertials with wing-tip clearly exposed beyond (beware of Short-toed with worn tertials) and typical flight-call different. Upperparts generally sandy grey, pale buff or rufous-brown, crown usually not tinged rufous; supercilium generally […]

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Large dabbling duck. Male easily told by dark greenish head, yellow bill, and brown breast and grey body. In flight see grey wings, dark blue speculum distinctly bordered by white, and white underwing coverts. Female is mottled brown like other female ducks and told mostly by size, bill shape, bill colour, and wing pattern. Differing […]

Kingdom : Birds, Pipit

Resembles slightly larger, more robust, lighter streaked version of Meadow but legs blackish brown (exceptions occur); compared with Meadow crown and mantle greyer, more indistinctly streaked and underparts whiter; in breeding season breast variably tinged rosy-pink and practically unstreaked; creamy white supercilium generally more pronounced. In winter, browner above though still greyer than Meadow; whiter […]

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Sloping forehead leading into long bill is characteristic. No crest present. Male has chestnut head and neck, contrasting with black breast and pale grey body. Black bill has has pale grey band in centre. Eclipse male resembles female but greyer above. Female fairly nondescript with dullish brown head and breast, chin and eye-stripe paler, dark […]

Kingdom : Birds, Goose

A large, mainly white, goose-like duck. Black head and green gloss, broad chestnut belt around forepart of body and black belly-stripe with a prominent red bill. In flight, shows black flight feathers contrasting strongly with white upper and underwing coverts and black shoulders. Flight is goose like with slow wing beats.

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Medium sized, rather heavily built and short necked dabbling duck. Differs from all other ducks with huge spatulate bill. Swims with front end low and bill often dabbling in water. Shape and proportions unique. Male has unmistakable dark bill and glossy green head which contrast markedly with white breast and shoulder. Flanks and belly strikingly […]

Kingdom : Birds, Skua

Wing-span as for Common Gull. Adult in summer has elongated pointed central tail-feathers (6–11 cm). Two phases (with frequent intermediates); see Pomarine for separation. Juvenile variable, from pale to very dark birds; ground-colour generally warmer, more rusty than young Pomarine, which see for further details. Told, with experience, from young Long-tailed by broader wings, slightly […]

Kingdom : Birds, Starling

A starling with blackish plumage with prominent white spots. The short tail and short pointed triangular shaped wings are characteristic in fast, straight flight. Walks quickly when on the ground. Juvenile is drab brown all over, with a blackish straight bill and dark loral streak.

Kingdom : Birds, Thrush

A little thrush that has black spots (not lines) on whitish underparts, is brown above with pale yellowish brown underwing- coverts. Flight is fast and straight.

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Easily told in flight from other similar-sized wheatears by almost wholly black tail (no large white patches at sides); otherwise male recalls black-throated form of Black-eared but black throat narrowly joined with narrower black wing area (shoulders not black as in male Black-eared); rump tinged buff. Sandy brown or grey-buff female often lacks black throat; […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

When perched resembles stocky version of male Pied or male Eastern Pied (capistrata race). Readily identified from both in flight by prominent whitish panel in open wing; compared with Pied the black ‘bib’ is smaller, underparts white (tinged buff in Pied) and undertail-coverts rufous-buff; also primary coverts narrowly tipped white and black band near tip […]

Kingdom : Birds, Wheatear

Slender, medium-sized wheatear. Male of race xanthoprymna (E Turkey, NW Iran) has black throat, sides of head and neck merging with blackish brown leading wing-coverts, rufous rump but white sides to tail; black band at tip of tail narrow (larger male Red-rumped almost black-tailed); little white in wings. Female usually lacks black throat but rump […]

Kingdom : Birds, Duck

Medium sized rather rufous duck with short neck, rounded, steep forehead and small grey bill, tipped black. Looks to have a high rear end when seen on water. Has a white belly patch, obvious in flight and when on land. Adult male has creamy yellow forehead and forecrown contrasting with chestnut head and neck, pinkish […]