Guide to Birds of UAE

December 01, 2012 By: Amruta Kshemkalyani

I have classified all these birds into 3 main categories

1. Native Birds, endangered birds come under the same category.

2. Migratory birds and

3. Newly introduced species.

Migratory Birds

While talking about migratory birds, we all need to keep in mind the very central location of UAE on the world map. When winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere, many migratory birds from Europe and North Asia take their stop in UAE while migrating to Africa and southern parts. Why they choose UAE? The answer to that is, while they pass the region, it’s winter in UAE so the weather is pleasant for them. UAE is blessed with numerous marshes and mangroves; to name a few Ras Al Khor, Eastern Mangrove in Abu Dhabi, Khor Al Kalba, etc. You can read here a complete guide to UAE’s Khors, Lagoons, Marshes, and wetlands.

So a very convenient location of this tip of the Arabian peninsula, plus abundantly available food supply for these birds here which include fish and biodiverse species in mangroves are the reasons why this region is popular among migratory birds. We get to see migratory birds mainly in marshes, mangroves, seashores, and sometimes in parks.

 

Slender-billed Gull

 

Lesser Crested Tern

Mallard

Common Sandpiper

Grey Heron

 Native Birds

There are some of UAE’s native birds, who are thriving in this very hot and humid condition for ages. We get to see these birds all over the country near the coast and also in the desert.

Kalbanese Kingfisher:
The Kalba Collared Kingfisher also called the Kalbaensis, the UAE’s only kingfisher is found in Khor Kalba. It is a blue-green and white bird that is considered one of the rarest in the world and has lived in isolation from other kingfisher species found in South and East Asia. It often picks up crabs from the ground.

Grey Francolin or Grey Partridge:

Grey Francolin or Grey Partridge

Endangered Houbara/MacQueen Bustard

This used to be a very popular bird in Arabia where it used to be hunted with the help of trained Falcons till the 1990s. The trend has stopped now because this species has become extinct in UAE.
It is a light sandy brown and white bird with a large body, long legs, and a slender neck. There is a bib-like tuft of feathers over the breast. When performing the spectacular breeding dance in front of a female, male fluffs the feathers in such a way to make feather basket around his face.

In 1995 late HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan set up Emirates Center for Wildlife propagation in Morrocco to protect and conserve Houbara Bustard in North Africa. In 2006 International Fund for Houbara Conservation is set up in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. Under this conservation program, the centers are established for captive breeding of the birds in UAE, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and China. In 2011 alone IFHC bred 20,475 Asian and North African Houbara in its centers. Out of which in UAE, there were 2,727 Asian houbara chicks born in captivity with an encouraging 53 percent survival rate.
At the same time, the number of Houbara released into the wild was a record 13,400, reaching the milestone figure of 50,000 since the Houbara release program began in 1998 with just two birds released in North Africa. Some 1,350 of them were released in 10 different locations across the UAE.

You can see Houbara Bustard in Arabian Wildlife Center in Sharjah, where they breed this UAE’s national bird.

Newly Introduced Resident Birds

Little Green Bee-Eater

Indian roller

Greater Flamingo House Sparrow House Sparrow

Alexandrine or Large Indian Parakeet

Laughing /Palm Dove

Eurasian Collared/Ring Dove

Red-wattled Lapwing

Common Myna

Also interesting, there is a recent discovery in the Hajar mountains, the eastern region of UAE of a bird named, Arabian Eagle-owl, read here.

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