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Wadi Faynan resident birds

We have selected to feature 88 of the 187 birds that have been seen in Faynan, choosing those most likely to be seen and some of the most elusive, many of which were also present in the Neolithic. We present these birds in two sections, those which are resident and might be seen all year round, and the migrants, to be seen either in the spring or the autumn. Click on the linked bird names below to see additional information about them.  

We then present a further 23 birds that are represented in the bird bones at the Neolithic site of WF16 but no longer seen in Faynan. These show how the habitats in Faynan have changed, indicating that there was once much more water and woodland than is found today. 

Chukar Partridge Alectoris chukar

Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi

Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus

Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus

Bonelli’s Eagle Aquila fasciata

Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus

Lanner and Barbary Falcons
Falco biarmicus and Falco pelegrinoides

Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata

Spur-winged Plover Vanellus spinosus

Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor

Crowned and Spotted Sandgrouse
Pterocles coronatus and Pterocles senegallus

Rock Dove Columba livia

Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto

Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis

Pharaoh Eagle-owl Bubo ascalaphus

Desert Tawny Owl Strix hadorami

Little Owl Athene noctua

Nubian Nightjar Caprimulgus nubicus

Little Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis

Hoopoe Upupa epops

Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor

Striolated Bunting Emberiza striolata

Crested Lark Galerida cristata

Desert Lark and Bar-tailed Lark
Ammomanes deserti and Ammomanes cinctur

Greater Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes

White-spectacled Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthopygos

Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligul

Arabian Warbler Sylvia leucomelaena

Scrub Warbler Scotocerca inquieta

Arabian Babbler Argya squamiceps

Tristram’s Starling Onychognathus tristramii

Blackstart Oenanthe melanura

Hooded Wheatear Oenanthe monacha

Palestine Sunbird Cinnyris osea

Sinai (Pale) Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus

Brown-necked and Fan-tailed Ravens
Corvus ruficollis and Corvus rhipidurus