Graceful Prinia is a
very common resident breeder in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, mainly
around the edges of the main reed beds. They are not so easy to photograph though
as they are fast moving so Jehad has dne well to get good photos of some
juveniles from Bahrain. They nest in low tamarisk as well as reed beds and
singing has been heard as early as February with the species becoming common in
the summer months. They presumably have at least two broods as I have trapped
and ringed a female with a brood patch on 27 March, Phil has photographed nestlings
in a nest on 2 May and Jehad’s Juveniles are from the end of June. The
subspecies occurring is P. g. hufufae
from north-east Saudi Arabia and eastern areas of the Arabian Peninsula,
including Bahrain, south to Oman as they had a broad, sharply defined black
band on tail-tips about 6 mm wide with a narrow white tip and paler upperparts
than in P. g. palaestinae. I thank Jehad for sending me the photos and for kindly allowing me to use them on my website.
