I went to the southwest to try to
catch Abyssinian White-eye to get blood samples to compare to the Mangrove
White-eye we trapped and ringed last summer. The original plan was to ring at
the top of the Raydah Escarpment, or at the farm on the Raydah Escarpment near
Abha, but unfortunately we could not obtain permission from the Rangers to ring
where we intended. As a result we headed 120 kilometres north and tried our
luck in the Tanoumah area a location that holds all the Arabian endemics except
Golden-winged Grosbeak and Arabian Accentor (which does not occur in Saudi
Arabia at all). We managed to catch a number of endemic species including two
Yemen Thrush, one Arabian Serin and a male Arabian Woodpecker. We also caught
two (Arabian) Green Bee-eaters a taxon that some people regard as a full
species like HBW. Handling these species was a real pleasure as not many people
have ringed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen so I obtained some valuable biometric
data from the birds. The Arabian Serin photographs below are by Chris Boland
and I thank him for allowing me to use them on my website.
 |
| Yemen Thrush |
 |
| Yemen Thrush |
 |
| Yemen Thrush |
 |
| Arabian Serin |
 |
| Arabian Serin |
 |
| Arabian Woodpecker - male |
 |
| Arabian Woodpecker - male |